An interesting documentary about a great artist from Germany. Above all, you need a little patience and staying power, because the film takes a lot of time. He sometimes watches Neo Rauch for a long time, letting the camera rest without comment. You don't necessarily need knowledge about art to understand this film. The film is special, but in its entirety very boring and weak. The international status of Neo Rauch deteriorates here in a boringly rotated and undramatic documentation.
2 Reviews
What would I be if I didn't paint? This guy creates his own matrix (sorry I just had to) or even something beyond that
Horst_In_Translation20 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Neo Rauch - Gefährten und Begleiter" or "Neo Rauch: Comrades and Companions" is German documentary movie from 2016, so this one has its wide fifth anniversary this year in 2021, even if the wide release back then did not happen before 2017. If I remember correctly, this was also airing at my local tehater back then, but I did not watch. Today I caught it on television. It runs for approximately 105 minutes, maybe minimally shorter, so for a documentary, especially on art, it is a little longer than they usually are. The writer and director is Nicola Graef here and that is a female filmmaker just in case you weren't sure with the first name. This is by far not the only work on artists that Graef came up with during her now already pretty long career. Another one from almost a decade earlier dealt with Immendorff for example and that was also a theatrical release just like this one here. These are a bit on the exception side though because otherwise Graef mostly worked on television projects and small screen releases. But Neo Rauch is one who deserves the big screen I would say after seeing him here. He is the man you see on the poster and he is of course from Germany, which means that this documentary is also in German. Mostly in German. There are short parts in English when we hear Americans talking or Germans talking to English native speakers, but these are really the exception. And the parts in Italian and Korean are even less. Blink (or the ear equivalent to that) and they may be gone.
There is no narration in here, but the artist does the talking, even if he is not a man of many words as it feels sometimes, but maybe he is just busy with his craft. We also hear some of the people he works with of course and his wife also shows up here and there and talks a bit. Mostly to Rauch himself. I must say that scene when she enters the room and asks him or makes the statement if/that he once again finished a painting did feel kinda stage dan poorly acted, but one of not too many criticisms I have here. We also hear a female voice here and there engaging in conversation with Rauch. Was it Graef herself? Could be. It's fine though. Not too frequent and it does not give the impression that the filmmaker wants too much focs on her. It's all about the artist always and that's a good thing. I also saw that Graef made a more recent documentary in 2020 on the Neue Leipziger Schule and that's basically the movement or group of artists that Rauch belongs to as well, that he may even be the most known member of. There you also have his regional background. He lives and works in Leipzig mostly. As a consequence, we also hear some elaborations on his time in the GDR, but it's really very, very brief only on one occasion I think. It's much more about the now or about Rauch's individual past, for example when we find out that he lost both his parents in a tragic train accident when he was only a month old and how he says in disbelief that his own children are now older than his parents were back then. They were 19 and 21 when they died, so also really young parents. A total tragedy. It seemed initially that he cannot or will not talk about this family background, but then in the next scene he opens up a bit. Which is alright, but not totally necessary. When he talked about the fourth man on one painting and what that one could symbolize, it did feel a bit too much for me. No need to get this personal, even if it was interesting to see how there are no certainties in his paintings and how this perception was only created in the process of painting.
What I actually wanted to say is that I also would have been fine with this being all about his art and I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this documentary from that perspective too because honestly artistry (at least in terms of modern painters) is nothing I care about at all. But his paintings were interesting and some of them I liked and surely you could discuss a lot what is depicted there and what it might symbolize. As always with these documentaries, we see him at work a lot as well (as you can see on the imdb photo too) and he elaborates a bit on his craft. Moments there that stayed memorable to me were for example how it's often the people showing his picture that decide a bit with him when a painting is really finished and also how really early on he elaborated on how he is constantly trying to find new paths and routes he has not been on before and how it gets more and more difficult. Or also of course how once a painting is finished or almost finished, he cannot really see it anymore. And he is somewhat sick of it because he looked at it for so long. That almost had comedic value. He sure seemed like a pretty humble man who is not one bit full of himself. Pretty likable. I also felt that he looked younger than 55 which he was when this got made. Maybe five years or so. He turned 60 last year.
One thing I did not find too likable here, or I should say people I did not find too likable here, was some of the folk he hung around with, even if all these relationships (except his wife) had a professional background. This applies for example especially (more than anybody else) to the woman who was next to Rauch very early on when they decided about some structure and what to put where and how she was behaving there. She was the director of some museum or something. Or just in charge of a specific exhibition at some museum. Curator is what they say I think. In any case, a very important person and she let everybody know. I don't think it is just my personal perception that this kind frequently feels a bit on the stuck-up and pretentious side. Not just curators, but also people visiting these exhibitions. Obviously not everybody, but a bigger percentage than it should be. This also applies to the three ladies there who were visitors at the exhibition or to the one asking this question in the end. It always feels a lot about distinguishing oneself and lack of authenticity in my opinion. The clothes are frequently very telling too. Like take Rauch here: He almost always wears his work outfit, usually with color stains on it even, or nothing too exquisite, but these dames next to him (by far not only his wife) are dressed in a way as if they were about to go to the opera or something. It feels as if they were trying to make up for the difference in talent (and it couldn't be bugger because Rauch can certainly be considered an exquisite talent) by behaving in a very stuck-up manner and acting very much on the pretentious side. Okay, enough of that. You get it I'm sure. Feel free to disagree.
I must say that I was not familiar at all with Rauch before watching this film we have here. I heard the name and that's it. I probably could not even have said if he is a paintor or a sculptor or anything. I just presume he is none of the latter because the movie did not say anything about that. If you take a look at the title of my review, these are basically the last words from this documentary. Or at least a direct quote from the final interview. Summarizes it nicely and also shows that he is a bit of a driven guy, maybe even a bit of an addict when it comes to his craft. We may have that in common. Do we? Anyway, back to the outcome here. I think it was quite interesting watch. Easy to enjoy for people new to the subject, but also offers something new I am sure for those that know a bit (or a lot) about Rauch already. I know that now during corona times, some museums offer virtual visits, but stuff like this is even sweeter. To find something out about the artist here and maybe know a little more once you see his newest exhibition at some point really. If you want to, that is. It would be a lie to say that this really inspired me to run to the nearest museum immediately, but that's fine. It does not have to. I still see the outcome here as an artistic achievement. Maybe not on Rauch's level, but Graef's efforts were certainly a success and I also felt she got the artist to open up here, which is always a crucial thing with a documentary that focuses on one person mostly. And after all, we also get some artistic shots in here. Just take the one at the very start. Camera standing still and the action was going on in front of our eyes. Like the ending of Payne's The Descendants starring George Clooney. Okay, a bit absurd maybe this comparison, but I liked the film and that shot in particular and there is definitely a parallel in essence. So well done for Graef, she managed her own artistic achievement here and I am glad she did. Like I was indeed surprised how it became obvious for me right from the very start that I would give this one a positive recommendation, even if it's the lowest possible positive rating for me.
The title maybe could have been a bit better. Not only because the words "Gefährten" and "Begleiter" are almost identical in terms of what they stand for, but also because it makes it sound as if it is more about people telling us about him than about the artist himself. Which it definitely isn't. But at least they also included his title name in the title and even better the first two words right away. I am glad he is this successful and also that he is such a big name internationally, one of Europe's most successful painters these days if not the number one even. He deserves it and still seems down-to-earth. An example would be the response to the question what he thinks about people paying millions for his works. Okay, this is pretty much it then. As I said already a few lines earlier, I give the outcome here a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out. Especially for those with an interest in modern painters or even in Rauch himself, this is a film they should check out. Maybe close to a must-see even. They will perhaps like it even more than I did. But everybody else gets an insightful documentary as well. So give it a chance and most likely you won't regret it.
There is no narration in here, but the artist does the talking, even if he is not a man of many words as it feels sometimes, but maybe he is just busy with his craft. We also hear some of the people he works with of course and his wife also shows up here and there and talks a bit. Mostly to Rauch himself. I must say that scene when she enters the room and asks him or makes the statement if/that he once again finished a painting did feel kinda stage dan poorly acted, but one of not too many criticisms I have here. We also hear a female voice here and there engaging in conversation with Rauch. Was it Graef herself? Could be. It's fine though. Not too frequent and it does not give the impression that the filmmaker wants too much focs on her. It's all about the artist always and that's a good thing. I also saw that Graef made a more recent documentary in 2020 on the Neue Leipziger Schule and that's basically the movement or group of artists that Rauch belongs to as well, that he may even be the most known member of. There you also have his regional background. He lives and works in Leipzig mostly. As a consequence, we also hear some elaborations on his time in the GDR, but it's really very, very brief only on one occasion I think. It's much more about the now or about Rauch's individual past, for example when we find out that he lost both his parents in a tragic train accident when he was only a month old and how he says in disbelief that his own children are now older than his parents were back then. They were 19 and 21 when they died, so also really young parents. A total tragedy. It seemed initially that he cannot or will not talk about this family background, but then in the next scene he opens up a bit. Which is alright, but not totally necessary. When he talked about the fourth man on one painting and what that one could symbolize, it did feel a bit too much for me. No need to get this personal, even if it was interesting to see how there are no certainties in his paintings and how this perception was only created in the process of painting.
What I actually wanted to say is that I also would have been fine with this being all about his art and I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this documentary from that perspective too because honestly artistry (at least in terms of modern painters) is nothing I care about at all. But his paintings were interesting and some of them I liked and surely you could discuss a lot what is depicted there and what it might symbolize. As always with these documentaries, we see him at work a lot as well (as you can see on the imdb photo too) and he elaborates a bit on his craft. Moments there that stayed memorable to me were for example how it's often the people showing his picture that decide a bit with him when a painting is really finished and also how really early on he elaborated on how he is constantly trying to find new paths and routes he has not been on before and how it gets more and more difficult. Or also of course how once a painting is finished or almost finished, he cannot really see it anymore. And he is somewhat sick of it because he looked at it for so long. That almost had comedic value. He sure seemed like a pretty humble man who is not one bit full of himself. Pretty likable. I also felt that he looked younger than 55 which he was when this got made. Maybe five years or so. He turned 60 last year.
One thing I did not find too likable here, or I should say people I did not find too likable here, was some of the folk he hung around with, even if all these relationships (except his wife) had a professional background. This applies for example especially (more than anybody else) to the woman who was next to Rauch very early on when they decided about some structure and what to put where and how she was behaving there. She was the director of some museum or something. Or just in charge of a specific exhibition at some museum. Curator is what they say I think. In any case, a very important person and she let everybody know. I don't think it is just my personal perception that this kind frequently feels a bit on the stuck-up and pretentious side. Not just curators, but also people visiting these exhibitions. Obviously not everybody, but a bigger percentage than it should be. This also applies to the three ladies there who were visitors at the exhibition or to the one asking this question in the end. It always feels a lot about distinguishing oneself and lack of authenticity in my opinion. The clothes are frequently very telling too. Like take Rauch here: He almost always wears his work outfit, usually with color stains on it even, or nothing too exquisite, but these dames next to him (by far not only his wife) are dressed in a way as if they were about to go to the opera or something. It feels as if they were trying to make up for the difference in talent (and it couldn't be bugger because Rauch can certainly be considered an exquisite talent) by behaving in a very stuck-up manner and acting very much on the pretentious side. Okay, enough of that. You get it I'm sure. Feel free to disagree.
I must say that I was not familiar at all with Rauch before watching this film we have here. I heard the name and that's it. I probably could not even have said if he is a paintor or a sculptor or anything. I just presume he is none of the latter because the movie did not say anything about that. If you take a look at the title of my review, these are basically the last words from this documentary. Or at least a direct quote from the final interview. Summarizes it nicely and also shows that he is a bit of a driven guy, maybe even a bit of an addict when it comes to his craft. We may have that in common. Do we? Anyway, back to the outcome here. I think it was quite interesting watch. Easy to enjoy for people new to the subject, but also offers something new I am sure for those that know a bit (or a lot) about Rauch already. I know that now during corona times, some museums offer virtual visits, but stuff like this is even sweeter. To find something out about the artist here and maybe know a little more once you see his newest exhibition at some point really. If you want to, that is. It would be a lie to say that this really inspired me to run to the nearest museum immediately, but that's fine. It does not have to. I still see the outcome here as an artistic achievement. Maybe not on Rauch's level, but Graef's efforts were certainly a success and I also felt she got the artist to open up here, which is always a crucial thing with a documentary that focuses on one person mostly. And after all, we also get some artistic shots in here. Just take the one at the very start. Camera standing still and the action was going on in front of our eyes. Like the ending of Payne's The Descendants starring George Clooney. Okay, a bit absurd maybe this comparison, but I liked the film and that shot in particular and there is definitely a parallel in essence. So well done for Graef, she managed her own artistic achievement here and I am glad she did. Like I was indeed surprised how it became obvious for me right from the very start that I would give this one a positive recommendation, even if it's the lowest possible positive rating for me.
The title maybe could have been a bit better. Not only because the words "Gefährten" and "Begleiter" are almost identical in terms of what they stand for, but also because it makes it sound as if it is more about people telling us about him than about the artist himself. Which it definitely isn't. But at least they also included his title name in the title and even better the first two words right away. I am glad he is this successful and also that he is such a big name internationally, one of Europe's most successful painters these days if not the number one even. He deserves it and still seems down-to-earth. An example would be the response to the question what he thinks about people paying millions for his works. Okay, this is pretty much it then. As I said already a few lines earlier, I give the outcome here a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out. Especially for those with an interest in modern painters or even in Rauch himself, this is a film they should check out. Maybe close to a must-see even. They will perhaps like it even more than I did. But everybody else gets an insightful documentary as well. So give it a chance and most likely you won't regret it.
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