Roman Coppola's CQ is not a satire of campy 60's sci-fi, it is an homage, and it's also a very thoughtful film on the balance between art and entertainment. The movie stars Jeremy Davies (Saving Private Ryan and Spanking the Monkey) as Paul, an American filmmaker working in Paris on the B picture Codename: Dragonfly and his own personal project about his life in Paris with his French girlfriend Marlene (Elodie Bouchez).
The film within the film, Codename: Dragonfly, is a hoot. It's a Barbarella style film taking place in the exciting future of the year 2001 about a sexy secret agent (Dragonfly) who has been asked to infiltrate a group of rebels camped out on the moon. Coppola gets the look and style down perfectly, from the bad mattes all the way to the groovy music. I loved the fact that he includes a scene where it's snowing on the moon. The cast working on the film is a great collection of showbiz vets and some newcomers. Gerard Depardieu plays the temperamental director who is kicked off the project. Giancarlo Giannini plays the producer who wants nothing more than to finish the picture, and decides to hire Felix DeMarco, a young hotshot director. DeMarco is played by Jason Shwartzman and he really brings the screen to life every second he's on. Also working on the film is Billy Zane playing the Che Guevara-like rebel leader, John Phillip Law as the Corporation Chairman, and Angela Lindvall as Dragonfly. Lindvall does an amazing job with her role. As the actress Valentine, she displays a sweetness that is effortless. As the character of sex-kitten secret agent Dragonfly she exhibits great comic timing and understatement.
Where CQ didn't work as well for me were the sequences where Paul is struggling to come to terms with his personal film. Marlene asks him why he wants to make a film about himself, and he states that it's because he wants to make something honest. She responds, `But what if it's boring?' I found myself feeling the same way towards parts of CQ. But my guess is that Coppola is exploring the question of art vs. entertainment not only through the story but through the film itself. Copploa is like Paul, trying to create something honest and possibly boring while also trying to create an entertaining story. Where Paul and Coppola succeed in bringing art and entertainment together is through a very nice scene between Paul and his father (the wonderful and underused Dean Stockwell). Through their conversation Paul gets the germ for his idea on how to end Codename: Dragonfly. The notion here is that even in the silliest of pop entertainment it is possible to inject a personal vision. After all, despite its campiness, Barbarella is a great reflection of the era in which it was produced. In essence, it is art. I would recommend seeing CQ for the Codename: Dragonfly scenes alone, but Coppola's debut feature is a solid film with solid performances throughout.
The film within the film, Codename: Dragonfly, is a hoot. It's a Barbarella style film taking place in the exciting future of the year 2001 about a sexy secret agent (Dragonfly) who has been asked to infiltrate a group of rebels camped out on the moon. Coppola gets the look and style down perfectly, from the bad mattes all the way to the groovy music. I loved the fact that he includes a scene where it's snowing on the moon. The cast working on the film is a great collection of showbiz vets and some newcomers. Gerard Depardieu plays the temperamental director who is kicked off the project. Giancarlo Giannini plays the producer who wants nothing more than to finish the picture, and decides to hire Felix DeMarco, a young hotshot director. DeMarco is played by Jason Shwartzman and he really brings the screen to life every second he's on. Also working on the film is Billy Zane playing the Che Guevara-like rebel leader, John Phillip Law as the Corporation Chairman, and Angela Lindvall as Dragonfly. Lindvall does an amazing job with her role. As the actress Valentine, she displays a sweetness that is effortless. As the character of sex-kitten secret agent Dragonfly she exhibits great comic timing and understatement.
Where CQ didn't work as well for me were the sequences where Paul is struggling to come to terms with his personal film. Marlene asks him why he wants to make a film about himself, and he states that it's because he wants to make something honest. She responds, `But what if it's boring?' I found myself feeling the same way towards parts of CQ. But my guess is that Coppola is exploring the question of art vs. entertainment not only through the story but through the film itself. Copploa is like Paul, trying to create something honest and possibly boring while also trying to create an entertaining story. Where Paul and Coppola succeed in bringing art and entertainment together is through a very nice scene between Paul and his father (the wonderful and underused Dean Stockwell). Through their conversation Paul gets the germ for his idea on how to end Codename: Dragonfly. The notion here is that even in the silliest of pop entertainment it is possible to inject a personal vision. After all, despite its campiness, Barbarella is a great reflection of the era in which it was produced. In essence, it is art. I would recommend seeing CQ for the Codename: Dragonfly scenes alone, but Coppola's debut feature is a solid film with solid performances throughout.