Pollock - the movie

It feels wrong to admit that I am not a fan of Jackson Pollock's artwork. He was such a pivotal force in the art world and I cannot deny his impact. While I am grateful for his vision, I'm just not fond of his paintings.

I adore this film though. What an intimate and loving portrayal of Pollock's incredible career as well as his struggle to really live. Its a finely crafted film with incredible performances and rich characters. I highly recommend it, and you can find it on Netflix Instant.

Link of the day - Waste Land

We watched another art documentary nominated for an academy award this weekend! Waste Land is about contemporary artist Vik Muniz who creates his imagery out of unconventional materials. (chocolate, cotton, sugar, etc..) The film documents his journey to return to his home in Brazil and work with the garbage pickers of one of the worlds largest landfills, in Rio de Janeiro. With their help, he creates their portraits out of the garbage they collect, and inexorably they change one anothers lives.

I really wanted to enjoy this movie more than I did. The work he does is interesting, the story of these workers is compelling, and the relationships they create can be really touching at times - that said, the whole movie can felt a little flat and the pace is rather slow.

I still recommend it, but I wish I hadn't had "academy" level expectations when I watched it.

Oscars - Exit through the Gift Shop

I had a family Oscars party last night, and in spite of the lackluster show, we had a glorious evening.  I cooked all day long and provided lots of foodie fare, complete with champagne.  (thanks Tastespotting!)

We had seen all of the Best Picture films this year and two of the feature documentaries, so we were pretty invested in the lineup.

One of my favorites was Exit through the Gift Shop. Its really a movie within a movie, that might just be a hidden conspiracy.

It starts out innocently enough, featuring a filmmaker who stumbles upon the shadowy world of graffiti artists - which is interesting within its own right. But then the film takes on a life of its own when the filmmaker becomes an obsessive collaborator and eventually a 'mass market' graffiti art world elite. Its a lot like falling down a rabbit hole.

The movie is produced by Banksy, a notoriously anonymous graffiti artist who is highlighted in the film. His work has heavy political and satirical tones, and one begins to wonder if the filmmaker in the documentary is just another one of Banksy's social commentaries about art and consumers. That subtle tension just adds to the color of the movie, and makes for a glorious romp.

I had really hoped that the film would win an oscar, and we might be graced with some of Banksy's spectacle onstage.

(Exit through the Gift Shop is available to watch on Netflix instant queue!)