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

1 win & 5 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
Leticia Brédice	...	Josefina
Sofía Gala	...	María Luisa (as Sofía Castiglione)
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?

---

Plot Keywords:

original story | black and white to color | color scene | watching television | cake | 

---

Taglines:

Every family has a past.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexuality and nudity

Details

Country:

USA Argentina Spain Italy

Language:

English Spanish French

Release Date:

26 June 2009 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Тетро

Filming Locations:

Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,504, 12 June 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$518,522, 22 September 2013

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,852,915, 22 September 2013

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

According to Francis Ford Coppola in an interview with Empire magazine, this is what he considers to be "the most beautiful film [he's] ever made", and a very "personal" project.

---

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.

---

Quotes

[from trailer]
Tetro: You stay away from me, got it?
Bennie: Whatever you say, Angie...
Tetro: Angie is dead. My name is Tetro.

---

Connections

Featured in ¿Qué fue de tu vida?: Rodrigo De la Serna (2011)

---

Soundtracks

Ecco, son giunte al somme del pendio
(uncredited)
from Madama Butterfly"
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Michel Sénéchal, Robert Kerns, Wiener Staatsopernchor and Wiener Philharmoniker
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Courtesy of Decca

User Reviews

Rumble Fish, made beautiful and Arty,

I can see a lot of connection between Copolla's 1983 Rumble Fish and this 2009 Tetro. Firstly there's that same inky black monochrome that's as dark as night and with the occasional splash of colour. Then, there's the brotherly relationship, here between Vincent Gallo and Alden Ehrenreich.

It's a while since I last watched Rumble Fish but the brothers there were Mickey Rourke (a rare good film for him at that time) and Matt Dillon. It's about street gangs and pool halls and how an older brother can be very impressionistic on a younger sibling. I'll say no more, except it's a blinder of a film and better than this.

I would have to say that the monochrome cinematography here, though, that everybody drools over is just too dark and contrasty, for this subject and film. I'm a photographer, so hopefully know and whilst Rumble Fish looked superb, that was full of geometric angles and angular paradoxes. Here, the screen is often plunged into almost darkness much of the time.

There is a balletic beauty to much of it though and we veer away from Rumble Fish and on to his works of epic greatness. The Godfathers and Apocalypse Now all share with this, an operatic build up of artistic and emotional tension that is mesmerising. Tetro has this toward the end at the Festival and we start anticipating something big and great. Do we get it? You'll have to see it yourself...

Others have touched on the actual storyline and I'm going to leave that to them. That said, the cast are all good but oddly, Vincent Gallo, as Tetro seems to short-change us. Not performance wise but in that we just don't seem to get to know him, which is part of the whole story, of course. Clamming up into a shell is nature's way of protecting us, emotionally, which is what Tetro did - and still does.

One major plus to this, very bog-standard DVD, was the sound quality - I 'felt' the sound as much as heard it. It prickled my eardrums with a tactile clarity, certainly Hi-fi standard, plus. OK, it was through separate amp and speakers but is as all my TV watching is.

Is Tetro a film for you? That's a difficult one. Art-house cinema lovers probably will and those who like a drama that is quite complex also but those who want action and something akin to Apocalypse Now, no. It is long, visually rich and dark (like plain chocolate) and accordingly, not for everybody but for those who do, it holds many strengths.