My Kid Could Paint That
My Kid Could Paint That ***1/2
A Documentary Film By
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev
82 Minutes(Rated PG-13 for language. )
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My Kid Could Paint That" is probably the second best documentary that I've seen all year-the first being the masterpiece "The King of Kong." And this is something right up my ally, especially documentary wise. It's a compelling real life stories-something away from politics, something away from third world country crisis'-something interesting that is unlike anything we've seen before. A film that raises several interesting questions about lying, family, ethics, innocence. Oh yeah, and it's all terrific fun, and filled with a few good laughs, and maybe even a few tears for you softies out there.
It was a few years ago now, when a young artist named Marla Olmstead began to get serious attention for the paintings that she was working on. They were called "masterpieces" by art collectors, and many even went on to say that there were shades of Jackson Pollack in them. The big catch was that Marla was no older than three years old when she started to get the attention that eventually turned into a giant media frenzy. Several people were saying that some of the paintings that appeared whenever a camera was on Marla ended up looking like a different painting-that they ended up looking like the finished product of any painting that a young girl of three would do. People stopped buying the painters, her agent and prime gallery owner ended up getting a bad reputation, and the parents were sent hundreds upon hundreds of emails, with people filled with hatred calling them scum for subjecting a child to that kind of public exposure if it all was a lie.
The truth is that the authenticity of the paintings was never proven, but I really think they were all done by her. The film raises questions about lies and truth, but it never really seems to find a position, and this is because the film maker, Amir Bar-Lev, never really knew what he felt about the whole issue. He was convinced they were real, but when doubts began to be raised by other news shows and media outlets, he began to change his mind and become concerned. And what made it worse was that Marla's parents-especially her mother, who was always shy about the attention-stressed that they were not lying over and over again. At times her father could be a bit much, and he clearly was loving every second of the media attention, but at the heart of "My Kid Could Paint That," we have the story of a little girl that really has no idea what a massive impact she has had: on her parents, on the media, on art collectors, and even on people that she never even met. She's just a little girl doing what she loves doing, camera or no camera. If Marla's paintings are real is for you to decide, but there is no doubt about it that "My Kid Could Paint That" is one of the best documentaries of the year, and an entertaining and fascinating look in modern art, what makes art, and if age if really a factor when it comes to making masterpieces.
Now Playing At:
Angelika Film Center
A Documentary Film By
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev
82 Minutes(Rated PG-13 for language. )
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"My Kid Could Paint That" is probably the second best documentary that I've seen all year-the first being the masterpiece "The King of Kong." And this is something right up my ally, especially documentary wise. It's a compelling real life stories-something away from politics, something away from third world country crisis'-something interesting that is unlike anything we've seen before. A film that raises several interesting questions about lying, family, ethics, innocence. Oh yeah, and it's all terrific fun, and filled with a few good laughs, and maybe even a few tears for you softies out there.
It was a few years ago now, when a young artist named Marla Olmstead began to get serious attention for the paintings that she was working on. They were called "masterpieces" by art collectors, and many even went on to say that there were shades of Jackson Pollack in them. The big catch was that Marla was no older than three years old when she started to get the attention that eventually turned into a giant media frenzy. Several people were saying that some of the paintings that appeared whenever a camera was on Marla ended up looking like a different painting-that they ended up looking like the finished product of any painting that a young girl of three would do. People stopped buying the painters, her agent and prime gallery owner ended up getting a bad reputation, and the parents were sent hundreds upon hundreds of emails, with people filled with hatred calling them scum for subjecting a child to that kind of public exposure if it all was a lie.
The truth is that the authenticity of the paintings was never proven, but I really think they were all done by her. The film raises questions about lies and truth, but it never really seems to find a position, and this is because the film maker, Amir Bar-Lev, never really knew what he felt about the whole issue. He was convinced they were real, but when doubts began to be raised by other news shows and media outlets, he began to change his mind and become concerned. And what made it worse was that Marla's parents-especially her mother, who was always shy about the attention-stressed that they were not lying over and over again. At times her father could be a bit much, and he clearly was loving every second of the media attention, but at the heart of "My Kid Could Paint That," we have the story of a little girl that really has no idea what a massive impact she has had: on her parents, on the media, on art collectors, and even on people that she never even met. She's just a little girl doing what she loves doing, camera or no camera. If Marla's paintings are real is for you to decide, but there is no doubt about it that "My Kid Could Paint That" is one of the best documentaries of the year, and an entertaining and fascinating look in modern art, what makes art, and if age if really a factor when it comes to making masterpieces.
Now Playing At:
Angelika Film Center
And for more information on Marla, for samples of the paintings, or if you want to buy one, visit www.marlaolmstead.com.
posted by Eric at
1:46 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home