Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- playful
- dreamy
- cinephile movie night
- retro cinema night
What critics said
Critics generally found CQ stylish, playful, and enjoyable as an affectionate homage to campy 1960s science-fiction films, though its overall execution received mixed reviews.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The fictional 1960s science-fiction production features a sexy secret agent, exaggerated genre conventions, and a knowingly playful style.
Paul is recruited to rescue a troubled film whose director cannot devise an ending, while the production's tensions drive the plot.
Paul's documentary project, romantic fixation, and involvement with Dragonfly cause his fantasy life and the film within the film to overlap.
The 1969 Paris production of a futuristic movie set in 2001 is interwoven with Paul's ostensibly honest documentation of his own life.
Films like CQ, and why
The Player
stylish meta-cinema, playful genre pastiche, and blurred boundaries between filmmaking and lived reality
Day for Night
self-reflexive filmmaking, romantic entanglements, and heightened European art-house comedy
The Science of Sleep
campy science-fiction homage, seductive fantasy, and an artist struggling to control his creation
Last Year at Marienbad
1960s pop-culture stylization, cinematic fantasy, and a young protagonist caught between imagination and reality
Movie Details
- Director
- Roman Coppola
- Release Date
- 2001-05-12
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (77)
Cast
- Jeremy Davies
- Angela Lindvall
- Élodie Bouchez
- Gérard Depardieu
- Giancarlo Giannini
- Massimo Ghini
- Jason Schwartzman
- Billy Zane
- John Phillip Law
- Silvio Muccino
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, ScreenPix Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, ScreenPix Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is CQ about?
- A young documentarian in 1969 Paris is pulled into a flamboyant sci-fi production where cinematic fantasy seduces him away from his promise of total honesty.
- What is CQ like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of CQ as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is CQ violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in CQ as mild.
- What did critics think of CQ?
- Critics generally found CQ stylish, playful, and enjoyable as an affectionate homage to campy 1960s science-fiction films, though its overall execution received mixed reviews.
- Which films are like CQ?
- Films with a similar feel include The Player, Day for Night, The Science of Sleep, and Last Year at Marienbad.
- How long is CQ?
- CQ runs 88 minutes.
- Where can I watch CQ?
- In United States, CQ streams on Amazon Prime Video, ScreenPix Apple TV channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, ScreenPix Amazon Channel .
