Francis Ford Coppola has shown in Cannes Tetro, his first film since Apocalypse Now won the Palme d’Or in 1979. While critics were largely less than enthusiastic about the premiere, the film does have a promising premise going for it.

Tetro (Vincent Gallo), whose real name is Angelo, is not fond of fame. His father, Carlo Tetrocini (Klaus Maria Brandauer), is a monster from whom Tetro has fled to Buenos Aires on a “writing sabbatical”. Here for the past ten years he has been working in a theatre unable to finish his magnum opus.

Tetro keeps his past a secret even from Miranda (Maribel Verdú), the woman he loves, until the unwelcome arrival of his younger brother Bennie, played by 18-year-old Alden Ehrenreich, whose fresh-faced innocence masks a streak of stubbornness. Determined to save his adored older brother, Bennie brings the past with him, although as Tetro’s new name indicates, it never really went away.

Filmed in black and white for the scenes set in the present, and in colour for the flashbacks, Tetro was initially supposed to star Matt Dillon in the role of the main character, with Javier Bardem in the role of his mentor, but the latter role underwent a sex change when Bardem pulled out and was replaced by actress Carmen Maura instead.

Copolla’s most personal film to date, self-produced and with names like Vincent Gallo and Maribel Verdú attached, Tetro will be most certainly worth a look, regardless of what critics may say. DearCinema has more details.