Inspirations Movie Review

Michael Apted's Inspirations was made five years ago and only now is seeing much daylight -- documenting the art and entertainment world in much the same way he looked at the scientific community in his later Me & Isaac Newton.

The ostensible highlight here -- as Apted probes the titular "inspirations" for his collection of musicians, painters, sculptors, architects, and choreographers -- are interviews with renowned painter Roy Lichenstein and famous musician David Bowie. Unfortunately, their inspirations are not terribly compelling as cinema. The genesis of Lichtenstein's pop art is revealed (obviously) as his love of comics. Bowie doesn't seem to have any inspiration at all except to do what he wants to do, critics and audiences be damned.

The rest of the subjects -- a gaunt blonde dancer, an eye-patched glassblower/artist, an American Indian sculptress, etc. -- are people you will never, ever, ever have heard of. As such, you aren't likely to care about their inspirations at all. Invariably, their comments about art are pretentious to the point of bordering on jibberish. The sculptress's metaphor for her head as a baby's soft spot -- and knowing when her sculpture is finished -- is about as uncompelling as any interview gets.

Lichtenstein and Bowie aside, I highly doubt Apted's documentary will much inspire anyone who sees it.