Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood (2018) is an Italian documentary directed by Jesus Garces Lambert.
In my opinion, Caravaggio was the greatest painter of the Italian Baroque. He was also a fascinating--if not likable--person. A documentary, rather than a feature film, should have been an important movie.
After all, many of his works survive, and can be seen in Italian churches and in museums around the world. We have contemporary and modern biographies. We even have some material written by Caravaggio himself.
However, the movie doesn't really work well. Director Lambert wanted to avoid a film that simply alternated between talking heads and works of art. He added extra footage of an actor who represents Caravaggio. (He doesn't look like Caravaggio. It's symbolic.)
The movie opens with the actor wrapping tape around and around his face and mouth. Not a great start. Then there are underwater scenes, and repeated images of blood. OK--not just talking heads, but opportunities wasted.
The more important problem is that there really isn't much art. (A previous reviewer has commented about this as well.) We don't get that many chances to view the paintings themselves. We get details and we get brief images. I've seen many of these paintings, and they are glorious. However, you'd barely know that if your only source were this movie.
Another problem is that much is made of Caravaggio's using his mistress and prostitutes as models for saints and The Virgin Marry. The filmmakers failed to make note of the fact that the painter was bisexual. This attraction is not subtle when you view his paintings of young men. If you're going to do a biography, and if you're going to mention sexuality, I think you should tell the whole story.
We saw this film at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. I'm grateful to The Little for giving us a chance to see the movie. I think it will work well enough on the small screen. I just wish the movie were better and worth seeking out.
P.S. There's an exceptionally good book about Caravaggio entitled "Caravaggio: The Complete Works" by Rossella Vodret. It was published in 2010 by SilvanaEditoriale.
In my opinion, Caravaggio was the greatest painter of the Italian Baroque. He was also a fascinating--if not likable--person. A documentary, rather than a feature film, should have been an important movie.
After all, many of his works survive, and can be seen in Italian churches and in museums around the world. We have contemporary and modern biographies. We even have some material written by Caravaggio himself.
However, the movie doesn't really work well. Director Lambert wanted to avoid a film that simply alternated between talking heads and works of art. He added extra footage of an actor who represents Caravaggio. (He doesn't look like Caravaggio. It's symbolic.)
The movie opens with the actor wrapping tape around and around his face and mouth. Not a great start. Then there are underwater scenes, and repeated images of blood. OK--not just talking heads, but opportunities wasted.
The more important problem is that there really isn't much art. (A previous reviewer has commented about this as well.) We don't get that many chances to view the paintings themselves. We get details and we get brief images. I've seen many of these paintings, and they are glorious. However, you'd barely know that if your only source were this movie.
Another problem is that much is made of Caravaggio's using his mistress and prostitutes as models for saints and The Virgin Marry. The filmmakers failed to make note of the fact that the painter was bisexual. This attraction is not subtle when you view his paintings of young men. If you're going to do a biography, and if you're going to mention sexuality, I think you should tell the whole story.
We saw this film at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. I'm grateful to The Little for giving us a chance to see the movie. I think it will work well enough on the small screen. I just wish the movie were better and worth seeking out.
P.S. There's an exceptionally good book about Caravaggio entitled "Caravaggio: The Complete Works" by Rossella Vodret. It was published in 2010 by SilvanaEditoriale.
