CQ (2001)

Director:

Roman Coppola

Writer (WGA):

Roman Coppola (written by)

Release Date:

29 January 2003 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Every picture tells a story

Plot:

A story of a young film maker who moves to Paris to make Sci-fi films.

Plot Keywords:

Director | Secret Agent | Film Industry | Sabotage | Movie Producer

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jeremy Davies	...	Paul
Angela Lindvall	...	Dragonfly / Valentine
Élodie Bouchez	...	Marlene
Gérard Depardieu	...	Andrezej
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Enzo
Massimo Ghini	...	Fabrizio
Jason Schwartzman	...	Felix DeMarco
Billy Zane	...	Mr. E
John Phillip Law	...	Chairman
Silvio Muccino	...	Pippo
Dean Stockwell	...	Dr. Ballard
Natalia Vodianova	...	Brigit
Bernard Verley	...	Trailer Voiceover Actor
L.M. Kit Carson	...	Fantasy Critic
Chris Bearne	...	Fantasy Critic

Also Known As:

CQ (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for some nudity and language.

Runtime:

88 min | France:91 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Luxembourg | France | Italy

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A | France:U | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Luxembourg

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

Every time Enzo says how many movies he's produced, the number shrinks.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dragonfly swerves her car in reverse in the tunnel, there are skid marks already on the ground along the path her tires take.

Quotes:

Enzo: Now... there are two kinds of movies: those with an ending, and those that don't have an ending. This movie needs an ending.

Movie Connections:

References Le mépris (1963)

Soundtrack:

Senza Mamma

Interesting premise butchered by an amateur

Watching the trailer for this movie, I couldn't help but feel excited.

Look at all the swank 60's spy movie references!

Well ... this wasn't the movie I'd hoped for. I believe that "CQ" is Roman Coppola's (son of famous Francis Ford Coppola) first feature-length movie. And I suppose that all first-time directors flail and hick-up in their first (hell, even second and third) films.

But Coppola very blatantly tries to conceal all his director and writer disabilities by shrouding the film with 60's pop-culture trivia ... something that I'm sure his "hipster" handbook directed him to do.

The premise involves an American attempting to edit a ridiculously avant-gard sci-fi/spy Modesty Blaise-esque movie in Paris ... while in his personal time he whines and moans about how he isn't adept enough to sustain a meaningful relationship ... all this through the eyes of a camera. And whilst he records his day-to-day life on film ... he neglects his stunning french girlfriend.

So ... our young American in Paris ends up taking the reigns of the spy movie and plenty of hijinx ensue.

It isn't hard to predict how the movie will end. And if you wait around long enough and can somehow see past Coppola's bloated, pretentious and pedestrian writing and direction ... then you'll have earned a shining ticket to complain about how great this movie COULD have been.

And people wonder why nobody remembers (or wants to remember) this movie. Chalk it all up to the futile attempts of a son of a great director to become more than his father.

Remember ... even old Francis Ford had to LEARN filmmaking. Anyone ever see "Dementia 13?" It wasn't a HORRIBLE movie ... but then again ... it wasn't "Apocalypse Now," either.

Roman's sister, Sophia Coppola has done so interesting work. If anyone inherited Francis Ford's filmmaking genes ... my guess is that it's her. "The Virgin Suicides" is a really excellent movie. "Lost in Translation" wasn't bad either.

So ... Roman ... keep on making those music videos. Your video for "The Strokes" was painfully dull ... but it was a little easier for me to switch channels.