Product Details

• Actors: Chaim Soutine
• Directors: Murielle Levy, Valerie Firla
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: KULTUR VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: September 29, 2009
• Run Time: 52 minutes
• ASIN: B002IDVUHE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,658 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Soutine. The name is familiar; the artist's work less so. The man, Chaïm Soutine, born in 1893 in a shtetl in today's Belarus, was a mysterious, shadowy figure. Filmmakers Valerie Firla and Murielle Levy seized the handful of clues they had; a few books, an old film, a tomb at Montpamasse cemetery; and conducted an uncompromising investigation. Arriving in Paris in 1912, Soutine joined the circle of those the 20th century would make great: Chagall, Picasso, Modigliani... Described by his peers as over wrought and high-strung, he was already driven to express his inner strife by twisting the lines and thickening the paint. The less aggressive, more harmonious work of his later years is the outcome of a lifelong battle Soutine waged with himself to keep his lines under control.

This documentary is more than a well-deserved tribute to a major painter from the school of Paris. The filmmakers' subtle approach to the work, and obvious fascination with his personality bring a complex, deeply engaging artist to life.