Rent Boom for Real (2017)
3.1 of 5 from 64 ratings
1h 21min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
"Boom for Real" follows Basquiat's life pre-fame and how New York City, the times, the people and the movements surrounding him formed the artist he became. Using never-before-seen works, writings and photographs, director Sara Driver (herself part of the New York arts scene) worked closely and collaboratively with friends and other artists from that period, inlcuding Jim Jarmusch, James Nares, Fab 5 Freddy, Glenn O'Brien, Kenny Scharf, Lee Quinones, Patricia Field, Luc Sante and many others. The film also uses period film footage, music and images to visually re-recreate the era, drawing a portrait of Jean-Michel and Downtown New York City before AIDS, Reagan, and real estate booms - and before the art world was motivated by money. Before the definition of fame, success and power changed, to what they are today. To be a penniless but published poet before the early 1980's, was the height of success. This is the story of New York City before everything changed. - Actors:
- Alexis Adler, Fab 5 Freddy, Patricia Field, Coleen Fitzgibbon, Michael Holman, Jim Jarmusch, Jennifer Jazz, Carlo McCormick, Mary-Ann Monforton, James Nares, Glenn O'Brien, 'Lee' George Quinones, Felice Rosser, Luc Sante, Sur Rodney Sur
- Directors:
- Sara Driver
- Producers:
- Rachel Dengiz, Sara Driver
- Aka:
- Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Studio:
- Modern Films
- Genres:
- Documentary, Music & Musicals, Special Interest
More like Boom for Real
Reviews (1) of Boom for Real
Hagiographic - Boom for Real review by AER
Boom for Real seems to gloss over the more problematic areas of Basquiat's life like his drug addiction and the circumstances of his death. This documentary fails to skewer anything about the painter, neither talking about his rise to prominence in depth or his painting styles and influences. A parade of ald friends and contemporaries struggle to give any insight into his life or work and as a result Basquiat is painted as an enigma - yet books exist that really delved into his work and life. One interviewee, Lee Quinones, thinks the documentary is about him, he says about one sentence about Basquiat. It would probably work as a gateway film to the Basquiat but other than that, you'd get more insight from Julian Schnabel's Basquiat (1998) or Downtown 81... or pick up a book about this fascinating car crash of a man. Lightweight and little more than a MTV-style hagiography.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.