Les folles aventures de Picasso

Hasse Alfredsson's and Tage Danielsson's films has always had a special place in my heart, and in particular "The Adventures of Picasso". The film is about Picasso's life and art, told through a distorted mirror.

For those not familiar with Hasse & Tage's style, it might seem to be a somewhat shallow and burlesque film, but it is more than a ordinary comedy. It also shows the trouble of becoming the victim of your own public image, and how the creativity and the personal life may suffer from it. In many ways it is a film in the same spirit as Charlie Chaplin's "The Dictator", slapstick mixed with reflection.

Pablo Picasso once said that "We all know that art is not the truth, art is a lie that makes us realize the truth" and I think that "The Adventures of Picasso" encompass this in a very nice way!

Gösta Ekman, you will be missed. If you enjoy comedies like "The Holy Grail" you definitely have to see "The Adventures of Picasso". This film is truly something unique. It blends humour and surrealism while at the same time featuring some of the best slapstick and satire from Swedish cinema. The sets, the effect work and the animation is all fantastic. And especially for the time it was made. There are so many strange and absurd jokes in this that I'm sure Alejandro Jodorowsky himself would have loved this. It's a celebration of the history of art that's also just a really fun time. Recommended!

I also picked up this film on VHS at an independent video store, and I was very taken with it. First, the film is a masterpiece of physical acting. Even thought they were speaking a number of different European languages, without subtitles, I had no problem understanding what was going on. It also makes wonderful use of surrealist imagery. I don't know a lot about Picasso, but I imagine someone who did would find this a fresh and entertaining take on the life of the man. Like a piece of Picasso's art, this movie is beyond language, I was left feeling like I knew how the man thought. If you enjoy physical comedy, this may be the most highbrow movie of that kind you'll ever see.

I found this at a local indie video store I used to frequent, and was a little surprised. But it is a good movie, with Picasso's life played for laughs(watch for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Tolkas played by men in drag!)The humor alternates between the cerebral and the scatalogical, but it is an interesting little piece, proving that intellectuals can appreciate satire and comedy as well as anyone else.

I saw this film while in Hungary (even funnier with Hungarian subtitles - cause it looks so incomprehensible!).

Sadly, when I rented it here in the USA, I discovered that a large chunk of the film dealing with Picasso in New York during the prohibition of modern art, and his subsequent trial and escape had been ruthlessly cut by the US censors. Criminal. Can't we Americans relax and learn to laugh at ourselves, too??

Nonetheless, this is a hilarious film and, as Monty Python so often does, draws on our knowledge of history to make it's fractured-fairytale point. Strongly recommended for those who love wacky (though sometimes slightly sophomoric) humor with a light intellectual touch.