My Kid Could Paint That (2007)
93 %
Reviews Counted: 76 Fresh: 71 Rotten:5 Average Rating: 7.8/10
Consensus:
Director Amir Bar-Lev grapples with exposing the authenticity of four-year-old Marla's paintings at the sake of burdening her publicly shamed family to transfixing results.
Runtime: 83 mins
Theatrical Release: 2007
Synopsis: In this fascinating documentary, filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev chronicles the rise and fall of child artist Marla Olmstead, the daughter of a dental hygienist and factory worker from upstate New York. Marla was all of four years old when she sold her first abstract painting. When the New York Times... [More]
Genre: Education/General Interest
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Marla's story is a sobering illustration of the way children can be exploited by adults who should know better %u2013 journalists, filmmakers and especially their own parents.
06/05/08
Mais interessante do que a provável fraude envolvendo a encantadora Marla é a reveladora sombra que o documentário projeta sobre o universo da arte moderna.
03/24/08
New York Times senior art critic Michael Kimmelman offers sharp insights when he mentions how Marla's painting reflects not just 'innocence' and what our psyches project into them, but also 'the cynicism of the art world.'
03/11/08
Top Critic
The paintings become colourfully self-deluded distortions of a world where adults project themselves back into childhood, capitalizing on both the adult nostalgia for innocence and our fascination with children who seem somehow adult.
03/01/08
Documentary filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev's "My Kid Could Paint That" is an impressive feat in that it revels in its own ambiguity while still giving us a very entertaining, ripped-from-the-headlines mystery story.
12/21/07
A compelling documentary that leaves you wondering if there is nothing sacred in this stinking world.
12/18/07
... starts out as a meditation on the nature of art and the machinations of the marketplace ... curdles into an inconclusive and trivializing whodunit.
12/14/07
Hugely entertaining documentary that raises interesting questions about media exploitation, the value of art and even the subjective nature of truth within the documentary format.
12/13/07
Raises compelling questions about artistic 'authenticity,' the 'meaning' of modern art, the voracious and double-edged demands of the news media, the exploitation of children and the nature of faith itself.
12/07/07
Bar-Lev handles [the portrayal of the Marla hype machine] sensitively and with a minimum of contrivances. He examines his role, but avoids excessive self-reference.
12/01/07
The journey becomes as frustrating as it is engrossing for director Bar-Lev and even more so for the audience.
11/30/07
A probing film not only about the subjective nature of art but also about the hypocrisy of the intelligentsia, the pervasiveness of modern media, and the sincerity of parents.
11/22/07
Bar-Lev exploits Marla as much as, if not more than, any other player in his movie.
11/17/07
It's a rare glimpse into the truth about the world and the art that tries to say something about it.
11/17/07
My Kid Could Paint That may not deal with life-or-death matters like murder or child molestation, but it raises questions that will nag viewers for days and weeks after the experience.
11/16/07
Mostly, the movie is a cautionary tale of the fragility of childhood innocence, with Marla becoming an enigma just by being her little-girl self.
11/16/07
Related Forums
(2007/Docu/Rated PG-13)-MY KID COULD PAINT THAT skedded for an October 5th release!!!
by: ReelReviewer.com 10/11/07
by: ReelReviewer.com 10/11/07
(2007/Docu)-"MY KID COULD PAINT THAT" gets picked up and Sundance for wide release!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/23/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/23/07
(2007/Docu)-"MY KID COULD PAINT THAT" gets picked up and Sundance for wide release!!!
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/23/07
by: REEL_REVIEWER 1/23/07
Pictures
Trailers & Clips
News
RT on DVD: Into the Wild, Things We Lost In The Fire, My Kid Could Paint That Arrive
posted by Jen Yamato March 03, 2008
Into the Wild, Sean Penn's lyrical adventure about a young idealist on a cross-country trek, leads new releases this...
posted by Jen Yamato March 03, 2008
Into the Wild, Sean Penn's lyrical adventure about a young idealist on a cross-country trek, leads new releases this...
Critical Consensus: Heartbreak Needs Discipline, Jane Worth Perusing, Seeker Reeks
posted by Tim Ryan October 04, 2007
This week at the movies, we've got honeymooners (The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle Monhagan),...
posted by Tim Ryan October 04, 2007
This week at the movies, we've got honeymooners (The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle Monhagan),...
Sundance News: A Busy Day For Buyers as "Waitress," "Clubland," and More Sell
posted by Jen Yamato January 22, 2007
The deal floodgates opened today, with studios picking up "Clubland," "My Kid Could Paint...
posted by Jen Yamato January 22, 2007
The deal floodgates opened today, with studios picking up "Clubland," "My Kid Could Paint...
Sundance News: "My Kid" Stays In Sony Pictures Classics
posted by RT Staff January 22, 2007
"My Kid Could Paint That," a documentary about a child whose abstract art has made over $300,000, is an...
posted by RT Staff January 22, 2007
"My Kid Could Paint That," a documentary about a child whose abstract art has made over $300,000, is an...
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