SIMON PARSONS is discomfited by an unflichingly negative portrait of motherhood and its trials
Megapocalypse now
RITA DI SANTO assesses the political reaction to Francis Coppola’s epic, self-funded depiction of the decline of the US empire
PAUL FOLEY recommends an extraordinary double bill that packs a punch and leaves you reeling
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a play about AI that results in a deadening disconnect for its audience
SIMON PARSONS applauds an insightful state-of-the-nation play that explores the growing class divide in South Africa
MATTHEW HAWKINS pays tribute to the performance artist and costumier, Leigh Bowery
SIMON DUFF reviews a new composition by German composer and pianist Florian Weber that blurs the line between where improvisation ends and composition begins
New releases from The Jim Mullen Quartet, Caroline Kraabel/John Edwards, and Matthew Muneses/Riza Printup
Megapolis
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
AFTER a long period of artistic silence, at the age of 85, Francis Ford Coppola, the director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, is back at the Cannes Festival with a huge work, Megalopolis, a film self-funded to the tune of $120 million, that talks about philosophy, architecture, physics, love, power and politics.
Set in a futuristic city called The City of New Rome is a story keenly relevant to the politics of today. A narrative voice at the beginning of the movie tells that “All empires are destined to collapse,” and New Rome shows all the signs of an empire that is doomed.
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