By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.75
Director: Roman Coppola
Starring: Angela Lindvall | Billy Zane | Elodie Bouchez | Gerard Depardieu | Jeremy Davies | John Philip Law
Country: france, italy, luxembourg, united_states
Year: 2002
Running time: 91
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0254199
Hilary says: “Roman Coppola officially joins the family business with his directorial debut, CQ. For anyone out there who loves BARBARELLA (and I know there’s at least one other person among the membership that will admit this) it’s a must-see.
“CQ is a valentine to Roger Vadim’s fabulous sci-fi/soft-core flick as well as the French New Wave movement. Jeremy Davies stars as Paul Ballard, an aspiring American filmmaker living in Paris with his French girlfriend, Marlene, an Air France stewardess. Paul is working as an editor on a cheesy sci-fi flick called ‘Dragonfly’ a collaborative French and Italian production starring a leggy young woman in progressively scantier outfits (hmmm….). In his spare time, Paul makes a documentary about himself and his life with Marlene.
“The film is about seeing — how we perceive ourselves and how limited we can be in our vision, even those who are supposed to be masters of a visual medium — and seeking out love. (The title CQ refers to Morse Code shorthand for ‘seek you.’)
“The action cuts smoothly between the narrative action in color, Paul’s black-and-white footage and ‘Dragonfly’ footage also in color. The costumes and particularly the soundtrack are both fantastic, helping to set the mood and establish the time period.
“The strong supporting cast includes Gerard Depardieu as ‘Dragonfly’s’ director, Coppola’s cousin Jason Schwartzman as a buffoonish Eurotrash wunderkind director, Billy Zane as a ‘space-age’ Che Guevara figure in green satin fatigues living with his rebels the moon, and model Angela Lindhvall as Dragonfly. An added bonus is John Philip Law as ‘The Chairman’ of the organization that hires Dragonfly for her mission; Law played the angel Pygar in BARBARELLA.
“The sum is not quite equal to its parts, and it is not as strong a debut as sister Sofia Coppola’s THE VIRGIN SUICIDES but it remains interesting throughout.”
Laura says: “The first thought that comes to mind after watching Roman Coppola’s ‘filmmaker making his first film’ paean to childhood memories of the 1960’s is to wonder if the project would have been backed had the first-timer not been the son of executive producer Francis Ford Coppola. Nepotism reign in this self-reflective, self-indulgent retro filmmaking in-joke, but Coppola does achieve some nice visuals and film students should get a laugh or two.” 2 1/2 cats
“For Laura’s complete review: http://www.reelingreviews.com/cq.htm”
Michael says: “CQ is a groovy flick. Roman Coppola’s homage to the sixties’ B-grade, science fiction movies a la BARBARELLA also chronicles the transition in cinema to the realism of the French New Wave. With terrific acting, phenomenal visuals, and tongue placed firmly in cheek, Coppola mostly succeeds in creating a thoughtful, and at the same time fun-loving film. There are a few stumbles, particularly during the rather outlandish finale, but for the most part, CQ delivers.
“Jeremy Davies stars as Paul Ballard, an aspiring filmmaker working under auteur Andrzej (Gerard Depardieu.) The film they are creating is called ‘Dragonfly,” a sci-fi/James Bondesque adventure/romance with a sexy title heroine. When Andrezej, and subsequently his replacement, young wunderkind Felix de Marco (Jason Schwartzmann) are fired/leave the film, Ballard gets his chance. Meanwhile, Ballard is working on his own film, a video of his life with his girlfriend Marlene (Élodie Bouchez) in a totally different style. Life meets art meets life, and so on adding up to a stylish romp, with some interesting things to say.” 3 cats