radical

who the heck is alice?!!!

wow. i have to say that...well first of all i love neel's work. secondly, i thought i knew something of who she was and from this film, i've found quite different from what i had thought.

she's nearly crazy. looney. wild and unruly. you'd expect this from van gogh maybe, but alice seems so much more in tune with people.

to be sure, this film seems to show the truth very well. i imagine a lot of filmmakers would've painted a much more flattering picture. in that way the film is as she was, bold and direct.

its not kind to her. in fact, it makes me like the person a bit less. but this doesn't diminish what she accomplished as a painter. it simply shows that her personally life was wrought with problems and yet somehow she persevered and ultimately claimed the fame she deserved as a painter.

i guess in that regard, it has a happy ending. by the time you get to the end though, you've gone through a whirlwind of regret, neglect, turmoil, poverty, near failure (or maybe actual failure), and all kinds of mess. maybe though its this life that informs what she becomes as a painter. maybe thats why she rejected the growing market of art and moved to a rough neighbor hood to find more "truth".

what ever the case, the film is engaging, the person is important (a free thinking radical feminist without the bondage of doctrine), and the work is phenomenal. a great film well worth seeing.

(8/10)

also worth watching the extras on the dvd. nice additions to the film.

8/10