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Megapocalypse now
RITA DI SANTO assesses the political reaction to Francis Coppola’s epic, self-funded depiction of the decline of the US empire
DREAMLIKE: a still from Francis Coppola's psychedelic depiction of the decline of the US empire

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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