Nov. 11, 2002 - 4:52 pm
i had this recommended to me a while back by i can't remember who. i don't think she had seen the film though and just wanted my opinion. i don't think anyone has seen this film actually. well i had been biding my time waiting for this to be a 5 night rental at Gemstone as opposed to the regular single night. i hate single night new releases and i refuse to pay money for that. well, actually i don't pay for the 5 nights either, i just use my free rental coupons, but that's beside the point. anyway this movie's very creative and keeps your attention really well. it's a little bit goofy, but it's supposed to be. so it works.
this is the first completely solo project by Roman Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola's son and Jason Schwartzman's cousin. (Jason Schwartzman plays the idiot playboy director who Jeremy Davies' character works for in this film.) but Jeremy Davies is the lead character, an up and coming but very shy and introspective film editor in Paris in the late 1960s. he's doing the editing for a big sci-fi picture called Dragonfly (which has a very Barbarella (1968) feel to it) and when the director gets fired, they bring in Schwartzman's character as a replacement. eventually he decides to leave the picture as well and Davies takes over the film himself, although he is reluctant, thinking to himself that the film is a big joke to begin with. the main character is also working on a "personal film" where he goes around his house filming himself talking, filming daily routines and objects, and having conversations with his French girlfriend. and he's trying very hard not to fantasize too much about the actress who's playing the Dragonfly character. (i would definitely have the same problem if i were in his shoes).
this film is both really complicated and really simple at the same time. i like the way it flows. it has a good sense of humor to it, great acting, and very innovative editing involved with it. one of the best things about the film is that we see the stupid Dragonfly movie in bits an pieces as the main character is working on the film. and then if you get the DVD version, you can actually watch the approximately 15 minute Dragonfly film in its entirety. great stuff.
oh and i'm sure you're wondering as i was what "CQ" means or stands for. well, to tell the truth it's still pretty confusing even if you happen to notice the short explanation that appears in the film. basically one time in the Dragonfly film, Dragonfly's spaceship is broken and the communications systems aren't working. the comm screen at one point broadcasts a message in morse code during the confusion that is translated as the letters C and Q. the screen then translates it to English as two words: "seek you." the only thing i can come up with is this is basically a story about the director trying to "find himself" in his work and in his life. maybe that's what is meant by CQ? i don't know. i assume so.
i just have to point out the fact that Angela Lindvall plays Dragonfly and that she is gorgeous and very cool.