The controversial “Megalopolis”, the latest work for the big screen by the Italian-American master Francis Ford Coppola, has captured the attention of the media especially after the divisive judgments that during the preview in Cannes split the international critics in two. The fruit of a gestation that lasted more than twenty years and financed completely independently, the science fiction title chooses to observe the contemporary era through the lens of dystopia, setting the dreams and ambitions of a visionary architect among the imposing streets of a futuristic city, to rebuild its foundations against the shady interests of a corrupt mayor.

In a strong and clear response to the poor 52% of positive opinions on the site Rotten Tomatoes, Coppola expressed his personal vote with the maximum score of five stars on Letterboxd, another well-known film classification and evaluation platform. It is no coincidence that the director has repeatedly emphasized in recent statements his satisfaction with the success of the project. Attracting controversy also for the lack of transparency of the working conditions - from alleged harassment on the set to sudden dismissals in the artistic department - the title did not convince CinemaScore users either, rejecting it with the low rating of "D+" which indicates a result inferior even to that of any other comic book movie.

In fact, the comparison with comic book films is not inappropriate if we consider how harshly the director has criticized this kind of operations, with opinions such as: «Martin Scorsese was kind when he said that this is not cinema. He didn't say it was despicable, while I say it is».

Another point of discussion was Coppola's positions on the upcoming American presidential elections, which would have further weighed down the negative aura in which the film is currently mired. In the company of his long-time collaborators Robert De Niro and Spike Lee, during a Q&A broadcast in the United States via live streaming from AMC Lincoln Square in New York, the director compared the fall of ancient Rome to the collapse of the American system, finding in his “Megalopolis” a clear metaphor for the present time. Predicting a radical change in the entire political and social structure in the short term, he commented: «My films are a little far-sighted, they refer to the future. People always told me: why do you want to make a film about America as Rome? Today America is Rome. And we are about to live the same experience, for the same reasons why Rome lost its republic and found itself with an emperor. This film is perhaps very far-sighted to make, a film about America, because it is about to happen in a few months».

And describing Rome in the light of today's society, he added: "Rome was so prosperous, it made a lot of money. So the senators were very interested in their power and their wealth. And they didn't run the country. Well, the same thing has happened here. Our Senate and our representatives are all manipulating their power rather than running the country. And we risk losing it ." Fresh from its release in the United States, the title unfortunately confirmed the less optimistic forecasts with a tepid debut at the box office, placing itself below the sixth position at the box office and recording just 4 million in takings from distribution in 1,854 theaters.

A clear sign that, at least for now, “Megalopolis” has not been able to make inroads among the large group of spectators. As for the release in Italian cinemas, before the debut scheduled for October 16, the title will have a preview on Monday 14 at Cinecittà, as a pre-opening event for the Rome Film Fest. The director himself will take part in the meeting, to introduce the film to the audience in the theater after more than thirty years of absence from the Roman studios, when he shot some scenes of “The Godfather – Part III”.

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