At its core, Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgievs engrossing documentary is a heros tale: Archaeologist and frustrated painter Igor Savitsky rescued more than 40,000 Soviet artworks (mainly paintings) from obscuritytucked away in family closets and under beds, used as patching for roofsand created a museum in the outback of Uzbekistan to house them. Many of the salvaged paintings are now considered 20th-century avant-garde masterpieces. After being told by one of his art heroes that his own work was rubbish, Savitsky devoted himself to recovering work that had run afoul of Stalin and the government-sanctioned Socialist Realism movement, which ruined not only careers but lives, as is painfully detailed in the film. Using wit and cunning, the obsessive Savitsky was able to con the government into providing funds for the creation and maintenance of his museum of dissident art. Pope and Georgiev let their camera linger on this collection, and create a dense but accessible context that illuminates the deadly political, religious, and historical tensions that made life precarious for the work and its creatorspressures that still linger today. Its a must-see for anyone interested in art.
Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
