Absolut Warhola
In less than 80 minutes, Stanislaw Mucha aims to give us a unique look into the mind of Andy Warhol... by visiting his relatives in his Slovakian hometowns. Here he visits with cousins, great aunts, and the like, where they offer few insights on a person they barely knew: Several go on diatribes saying he wasn't a homosexual; one discusses how they used a stack of drawings he sent home to make toys for the kids because they didn't know they were worth money. There's one guy who dresses and wears his hair like Warhol. What's he got to say? Not a hell of a lot. No one here seems to really have ever met Warhol (who dropped the "a" from Warhola when he moved to New York), but all are happy to claim him as their town's favorite son.
Mucha's visit to the Warhol Museum is nothing short of bizarre. The curators start by showing the leaky roof and then asking for money, going so far as to tell us what bank and bank account we can send donations to! Later they explain their iffy selection process for choosing works: How much they speak to local culture (i.e. do they contain images of cows or communist propaganda symbology, etc.?).
Too bad then that most of this quick flick plays out like this: A simple freakshow with more insights into eastern European yokels than Andy Warhol. A man serves local bacon. An old lady bemoans her loss of looks. Kids play in the streets. A local rock band performs. An older guy plays the trumpet. The movie culminates with an interminable accordian performance. What's any of this got to do with the art of Warhol? Well, not a lot, unless you are wondering what drove him to leave Slovakia in the first place. Believe me, after five minutes of Absolut, that mystery is solved. Those looking for insight into Warhol's art will be sorely disappointed.
The new DVD adds a making-of vignette.
Rating
2.5 out of 5 Stars
- Director: Stanislaw Mucha
- Producer: Dieter Reifarth
- Screenwriter: Stanislaw Mucha
- Stars:
- MPAA Rating: NR
- Year of Release: 2001
- Released on Video: 03/09/2004
-
Buy Absolut Warhola on DVD from Amazon.com
Rent this film on DVD from Netflix
Buy this poster from AllPosters.com
Buy Absolut Warhola on VHS from Amazon.com