Tetro
An eighteen-year-old sailor probes his reclusive brother’s unfinished novel and concealed family history in a feverishly stylized Buenos Aires drama.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- operatic
- brooding
- melancholic
- reflective evening
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the film's arresting visuals and emotional core compelling despite an uneven narrative.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Tetro and Bennie are shaped by their father's legacy, while Tetro's unfinished novel becomes a route into family history.
The Buenos Aires sections prominently use high-contrast black-and-white imagery to externalize the brothers' alienation and buried past.
Bennie searches through Tetro's guarded behavior and unfinished writing to discover what happened within the Tetrocini family.
The film combines volatile sibling confrontations, romantic entanglements, confession, violence, and artistic rivalry in an emphatically theatrical register.
Films like Tetro, and why
The Godfather Part II
family secrets, artistic ambition, operatic melodrama, and fractured sibling relationships
The Royal Tenenbaums
brooding family drama, buried history, literary self-invention, and psychologically charged performances
Rumble Fish
stylized black-and-white imagery, volatile family dynamics, romantic melancholy, and auteur-driven drama
The Squid and the Whale
intimate sibling conflict, repressed trauma, and emotionally abrasive domestic drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Release Date
- 2009-06-11
- Runtime
- 127 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (224)
Cast
- Vincent Gallo
- Alden Ehrenreich
- Maribel Verdú
- Klaus Maria Brandauer
- Silvia Pérez
- Rodrigo de la Serna
- Érica Rivas
- Mike Amigorena
- Lucas Di Conza
- Adriana Mastrángelo
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tetro about?
- An eighteen-year-old sailor probes his reclusive brother’s unfinished novel and concealed family history in a feverishly stylized Buenos Aires drama.
- What is Tetro like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tetro as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Tetro violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Tetro as mild.
- What did critics think of Tetro?
- Critics generally found the film's arresting visuals and emotional core compelling despite an uneven narrative.
- Which films are like Tetro?
- Films with a similar feel include The Godfather Part II, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rumble Fish, and The Squid and the Whale.
- How long is Tetro?
- Tetro runs 127 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tetro?
- In United States, Tetro streams on Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel.
