"Megalopolis is a reminder that the heroic conception of the architect is an intoxicating one"

Francis Ford Coppola's bizarre new epic movie about a visionary architect has been panned by critics. Will Wiles asks what it all says about the profession's role within contemporary popular culture.

One of the characters in Charlie Kaufman's 2008 film Synecdoche New York lives in a house that's on fire. It's on fire when they buy it, and the fire continues for years. Eventually it has tragic consequences.

The metaphor is not particularly subtle. But that image of the burning house, the idea of it, is very powerful.