Tetro (2009)

Bennie travels to Buenos Aires to find his long-missing older brother, a once-promising writer who is now a remnant of his former self. Bennie's discovery of his brother's near-finished play might hold the answer to understanding their shared past and renewing their bond.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Mauricio Kartun (verse "Fausta"), Francis Ford Coppola

Stars:

Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdú

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vincent Gallo	...	Angelo 'Tetro' Tetrocini
Alden Ehrenreich	...	Bennie
Maribel Verdú	...	Miranda
Silvia Pérez	...	Silvana
Rodrigo De la Serna	...	José (as Rodrigo De La Serna)
Erica Rivas	...	Ana (as Érica Rivas)
Mike Amigorena	...	Abelardo
Lucas Di Conza	...	Young Tetro
Adriana Mastrángelo	...	Ángela
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Carlo / Alfie Tetrocini
Leticia Brédice	...	Josefina
Sofía Gala	...	María Luisa
Jean-François Casanovas	...	Enrique
Carmen Maura	...	Alone
Francesca De Sapio	...	Amalia

Storyline

The week of his 18th birthday, Bennie, who's a waiter on a cruise ship, has a layover in Buenos Aires. He seeks out his older brother, Tetro, whom he hasn't seen in years. Tetro, who lives with Miranda, is a burned-out case; he's hot and cold toward his brother, introducing him as a "friend," refusing to talk about their family, telling Bennie not to tell Miranda who their father is. Thoughts of their father cast a shadow over both brothers. Who is he, and what past has Tetro left behind? Bennie finds pages of Tetro's unfinished novel, and he pushes both to know his own history and to become a part of his brother's life again. What can come of Bennie's pushing?

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Plot Keywords:

ship | writer | cruise ship | 18th birthday | play | 

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Taglines:

Every family has a past.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexuality and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA Argentina Spain Italy

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

26 June 2009 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Segreti di famiglia

Filming Locations:

Argentina

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$30,504 (USA) (12 June 2009)

Gross:

$438,350 (USA) (21 August 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, Zoetrope Argentina, Tornasol Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The flashback scenes were originally to be shot using 16mm film to truly emphasize past events, but since this type of film/camera was almost out of date the whole film was shot with a digital camera and the flashbacks had to be digitally treated.

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Goofs

Early in the movie Tetro stumbles into the kitchen with a broken leg and knocks over some furniture while lighting a cigarette using a burner on the stove. he ignites the burner by just turning the knob on the stove. A few minutes later Miranda must use a match to light a burner on the same stove-top.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
Tetro: Why'd you find me?
Bennie: Everything I've loved or been interested in has been because of you. You disappeared, without even an explanation...

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Connections

References The Red Shoes (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Last Round"
(1996) (uncredited)
Composed by Osvaldo Golijov
Performed by The St. Lawrence String Quartet
Courtesy of EMI Canada, Film & TV Placement Dept.
Courtesy of Ytalianna Music Publishing

User Reviews

Don't Go To The Light

"Youth is Wasted on the Youth". At a point beyond the barrier of the 40's , we all know that to be true, but the true unfairness of this fact of life is that the opposite is often also true. I for one haven't reached that other age bracket yet, but after having watched "Tetro" -and with the unfortunate reminiscence of Antonioni's "Beyond The Clouds" or on a much lesser level, Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" still fresh on my mind-, I'm starting to wonder if the weight of the years and decades of very intense reflection doesn't have very nefarious consequences indeed on a talented person's ego. "Tetro" sinks under so much self-importance, as if it couldn't bear the load of wisdom that Coppola wants us to believe he has acquired over the years. Don't get me wrong, we all know Coppola will forever be the outrageously brilliant director of some of the most purely cinematic experiences since the birth of cinema; the problem is, it seems like Coppola's artistic development has been stumped -the impression he gives is that of the snake charmer that has charmed himself. The very infantile notion of "genius" and the need to be recognized as such are at the heart of this very artificial, anachronistically romantic film. I could go on ranting about the incredibly superficial vision of Buenos Aires, which drops us at Café Gran Tortoni, La Boca and Radio La Colifata as if on a sightseeing tour bus - I was surprised there was no scene of a couple dancing tango-.