This is an interesting documentary film that I happened to see on tv. I wasn't previously familiar with Norval Morrisseau - though I got a feeling that I might have seen his art somewhere before.
At first I was a bit confused where is the film going and how are all these people connected to the big picture but later it started to become more clear. More than the original art itself the film focuses on crimes that some people close to the artist committed. The makers of the film have done very thorough job in interviewing a lot of different people and collected a lot of clues to put together the difficult puzzle where a lot of lies and half-truths are against each other. The ending is left a bit open but everyone can then form their own opinion.
Recommended for fans of art, and generally anyone who likes crime-solving and truth-seeking kind of films.
There Are No Fakes
2019
Action / Biography / Crime / Documentary
Plot summary
Barenaked Ladies' keyboardist Kevin Hearn, an art collector, goes shopping at the respectable Maslak-McLeod Gallery intending to purchase a Norval Morrisseau (1932-2007) - arguably the first modern Canadian indigenous painter to receive widespread acclaim - the one ultimately purchased being for $20,000. While Hearn is displaying his art collection, including the Morrisseau, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, he is informed by the gallery owner that he has removed that painting from the display as it is a fake. Going back to Maslak-McLeod to get his money back, Hearn faces resistance from gallery owner Joe McLeod for several reasons, Hearn in turn suing McLeod for the $20,000, such an act which has never been successful in the difficulty of proving the intent of fraud even if the piece itself can be proved to be a fake. This public act opens the heated discussion among a number of individuals on both sides of the issues: on one side, the so-called experts and Morrisseau insiders who believe they can identify fakes, and on the other side Morrisseau private collectors and independent dealers who assert that there are no fake Morrisseaus in circulation, both sides contending that their stance is first and foremost to protect Morrisseau's good name and reputation. While this heated discussion is a direct result of the legal action, Hearn will find that the story spins off into directions that he probably never envisioned including illegal drug dealing, sexual assault and the broader issue of the effects of western colonization on the indigenous peoples, with many involved in the story musing about what Morrisseau would have thought about the proceedings if he was still alive.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Of art and crime
Somewhat Interesting Documentary
Not a particularly fascinating documentary. Fairly obvious who the bad actors in this story. A story of greed and simple people being taken advantage of. Art work (childlike) is forged and sold to a gullible Canadian public. Some at ridiculous prices. Oddly, not a single forensic examination of any of the art is shown or discussed.
Love a good documentary....
And this one certainly qualifies. What starts off as a story filled with art world intrigue and drama, veers off into a much darker and disturbing story of drugs, cultural appropriation, and possibly murder. Would have loved to know more about the artist and how his work came to be so beloved, before he drifted off into drugs and a downward spiral. It feels like two movies that were edited into one. Still, for anyone with an appreciation for Indigenous art, or a good mystery, i recommend this movie.