For several decades, gifted and incredibly prolific forger Mark Landis compulsively created impeccable copies of works by a variety of major artists, donating them to institutions across the country and landing pieces on many of their walls. ART AND CRAFT brings us into the cluttered and insular life of an unforgettable character just as he finds his foil in an equally obsessive art registrar.
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I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Art and Craft is an excellent documentary film. In a similar approach sometimes used by Errol Morris, the the filmmakers simply get out of the way and let the main character and other real participants tell the story. There is no expert analysis or moralizing.Mark copies artworks and then donates the forgeries to various museums, passing them off as the originals. He truly believes he is doing nothing wrong or illegal.The story is a somewhat sad one. Mark has talent, but he never has had the guidance to help him reach his potential. Mark also has good social skills. He is polite and sells his product convincingly. He has some mental health issues, but most of his treatment seems to have been medication.Mark's belief that he is doing nothing wrong is interesting. While no one seems to condone his actions, no one seems willing to deeply condemn him either. His actions aren't extremely vicious or hurtful, but there is a violation against society taking place. the violation itself is provocative, and causes people to examine the relationship between art and the viewer. That kind of discussion is often said to be one of the purposes of art.Though the story is somewhat sad, there is something redemptive as well. When Mark is given the opportunity to exhibit the forgeries he agrees to participate, and things go well.Another interesting character in the movie is Matthew, who is a museum curator duped by Mark. At first his is extremely angry at the deception. He becomes somewhat obsessed with Mark and works on his own time to locate and expose as many of Mark's donated forgeries as he can. Ultimately Matthew is able to turn the experience into something positive. Instead of being vengeful, he sees it as a learning experience. The face-to-face interaction between him and Mark is amusing rather than painful to watch.Did Mark really hurt anyone - or only their pride? Do the forgeries succeed as art on some level? When we look at a Monet or Picasso do we see the work or do we see a work by Monet or Picasso? If so, is that perception as false as Mark's forgeries?
For film that mainly focuses on documenting an odd, old man with very strange behavior, it's very well put together and is fascinating to watch.As for the critique on here about not exploring the "Why?" surround his behavior, I think the film let's you answer that yourself. It presents all the information in a neutral way and doesn't form an opinion or spoon feed the viewer. Perhaps there is are no answers to - Does he know what he's doing? Is he a bad person? Is he malicious or does he think he's helping in some way? It's a tribute to the film that you aren't left with answers.You'll be talking about this film long afterwards.
I've seen a number of documentaries, but certainly I lean more toward mainstream entertainment. This film was far more interesting than any movie I've seen lately. That includes the 12 year "gimmick" that might soon win the best picture Oscar.Art and Craft is simply well made. Mr. Landis' story is told in a creative way and the various factors of his influence are often offered with subtlety. While many scenes appear just straight forward capturing of moments leading up to the exhibit in Cincinnati, they are clearly well thought out to paint their own picture of the man.He is a fascinating subject and worthy of study and discussion whether in respect to his level of talent, the con of the industry, or his medical conditions. Another reviewer was disappointed that the "why?" wasn't explored more. I do think it's explored during a number of scenes, but I accept that it might not be loud enough.Spoiler- In one scene Mr. Landis makes a quiet point that I believe should have received more attention. The way it's shown in the documentary, it's easy to miss. I think it's during the trip to the supermarket. Paraphrasing here- he says that he liked how people reacted to him while he was being a philanthropist. I get it. We all should after seeing this film.While watching even his medical specialists who are supposed to care both for him, and about him, you can see people quickly dismissing the man. They ask the questions that they should and move on quickly to the next question to check off their list. They do their jobs, and possibly even well; but they don't really look at him or hear him the way I'm sure the curators and museum caretakers did while getting excited about donations. Suddenly he had some actual focus from other human beings. We're all human. We know the difference from real interest and someone just going through the motions. He does give us multiple "whys" in the movie and how interesting it that? It was fascinating to me.The only other point that I wish they had touched on even more was to show folks letting Mr. Landis know in stronger terms that we do believe in him and that he does have a place in the art world if he will redirect his talents. Mr. Landis- people would pay for original works from you with joy and appreciation.
Art and Craft is one of the most fascinating documentaries about art that I have ever seen. It's well made, well put together, and delivers a very satisfying experience overall. In fact, this film fascinated me more than some live action movies have.Art and Craft is a documentary that follows a few days in the life of famous art forger, Mark. A Landis. Mr. Landis is a savant who has spent 30 years deceiving museums with his drawings by making them believe that they actually have art by a famous artist, when, in fact it's just him. Landis has the amazing ability to copy a painting almost exactly like the original artist, although Landis is not a very good artist, rarely paints original art of his own, and prefers instead to cheat and copy. This film explores Landis as we see him go through his childhood, learn how he became obsessed with art, how his fraud was eventually exposed, and also see him prepare for an exhibit based upon his "fake" work.This documentary was a very pleasant surprise. After weeks of films that were okay, but lackluster, Art and Craft's high quality was a breath of fresh air. This documentary doesn't portray Landis as a criminal or villain, or glorify him as some sort of hero. Instead, it just portrays him as a real human being who is a curiously strange person. In total, Landis has given 47 forged paintings to 46 art museums around America. In the film, we see interviews with Landis himself where he explains why he became a forger, what his life is like, and his understanding of his mental problems. We also see interviews with people who have met Landis, or people who worked at various art museums that Landis has tried to give forged paintings to, and how they may or may not see him as a villain. This documentary method is quite effective and allows us to see perspective from both sides.Some of the directing choices in this film were interesting as well. Filmmakers Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman really show they know how to use a camera. Sequences such as the one where we see Landis's photo gallery and his forged art really help to emphasize him as a person. While I quite liked how the regular scenes kept being intercut with movie clips from films like Casablanca and Charlie Chan, as Landis is shown to be a bit of a classic film fan, having grown up watching a lot of television and movies.Art and Craft is a wonderfully made documentary about one of the most fascinating characters of real life art. I've watched plenty of great documentaries in the past, but this one reminds me of why I find filmmaking to be interesting in the first place. I definitely recommended this film.