The Mystery of Picasso

"💛 The frame shows white space, simple and plain, then lines start to materialize into vague shapes until an entire painting has manifested right in front of our eyes. The painting is by Pablo Picasso with inks designed to bleed through the paper while the director films from the other side of the easel capturing it in real time. This alone is worth a five star rating. In one stroke of time we are given a documentary that knocks on the door of animation style film, while following the creative mind of Picasso himself in real time, through his hand movements and use of brush and ink. Then we are given another example, just as joyous and fascinating as the last, played to instrumental music that faintly syncs with the unfolding of the image that we are watching. Some of it is classical, some of it is jazz, all of it infuses the paintings with drama not much removed from a story being played out by actors. The movie cuts to Picasso after he has created a few images. He tells the director that he hasn't gone beneath the surface yet. He wants to do something risky. Indeed, he hasn't, but he will. We are shown the result of work in the span of minutes through an initial image, then a cut to his progress over chunks of time. When he has established a general image, he paints over it, or goes crazy with details that make his initial drawings change context. Image bleeds into image until we settle on a finished work. In one painting lies many other images beneath, invisible to the naked eye. This is the meat of the movie, and it is at once fascinating, dazzling, and creative. It filled my mind and heart to the brink of bursting, creating a narrative told through image and music, so simple and direct that for me, rating it would be cheap. I do it on this platform so that it receives exposure, but that's all. While this came out first, I would say that if 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY had kindred spirits, it would be WAKING LIFE and this. Pure joy to watch."

"It is magical."