I was wondering why haven't they made at least one good film about Eminescu or Brancusi, two of the greatest Romanian artists and two very interesting characters, too. After watching this, I'd say it would have been for the better if they didn't.
This film is a poorly constructed, lame attempt to show something about the sculptor who has revolutionized modern art and about the impact of his work on society, but it only ends in pretense and occasional ridicule. The three stories, or viewpoints, are a fine idea, but sadly the only good (read: bearable) parts of this flick are sometimes the acting of three characters (Brancusi, Elaine, and the forger).
The rest of it is pitiful: thin script, dialog full of clichés, bad acting, horrendous special effects, at times bad editing, and especially the scenes 'in Nirvana' with the Tibetan mystic Milarepa are shameful, ridiculous, almost mocking and circus-like.
Perhaps they had some good intentions about making this film, but it hugely misses its mark. There is nothing of Brancusi's spirit and nothing worth watching in this.
Plot summary
3 stories, 3 characters and 3 periods of time are at the center of the film. The main story is about Brancusi's mature period, following his arrival in Paris, during his friendship with Modigliani and his relationship with Martha, his favorite model. The second story is about a Fine Arts student. Due to the massive criticism of some Romanian Academy members, who didn't recognize Brancusi's work first, he wanted to leave Romania and sent to prison for 13 years. After he's released the value of Brancusi's work has changed in Romania and now the former security forces him to forge some of Brancusi's works. The third story has at its center a great scholar who lived in Tibet in the XII century. He is the link between sculptor and forger, a link between their destinies.
December 07, 2022 at 12:08 PM
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