Le faussaire

One of my favorite types of documentaries is definitely the "eccentric character study," and this entry is no slouch. I don't know whether to applaud or despise Landis.

I recommend it.

Everybody loves art, it doesn't matter what form of art, it's something we enjoy looking at. So to have somebody like Mark A. Landis copying some of the greatest artists' works is worth debating. It's clear Landis needs some help, he's clearly on the spectrum. Should he be in prison? I don't think so. Should he been instutitionalized? Probably, or certainly if he continues plagerizing, because that's what he basically does, and that's still punishable by the law. It doesn't matter if he donates his copies, he still does it with the intention to fool everybody, so yes he perfectly knows what he's doing. Everybody can have his opinion about the matter but to me he's definitely a criminal. If he would copy all those art pieces and hang them in his house, that's a whole other thing. That would be his hobby and personal collection. But that's not what he's doing, he signs his works with the signature of the original artist and that's a crime. Landis is a weird person, he reminded me of Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, talking about his 'mother' in an almost obsessive way. That man needs help, that's for sure. I will never get why he's just not painting his own stuff, he's clearly talented. Matthew Leininger on the other hand reminds me of Bookman from Seinfeld. He's a bit too obsessed by the whole case, it was almost sad to see his daughter being dragged into this, but without him those falsified works would probably still hang in all those museums. So a big thanks to him for his persistance. The documentary is well made, it's awkward but informative. I have no clue why Landis hasn't been on trial yet because he should. I guess they have bigger things on their mind than preserving the integrity of the artwork.

This documentary serves as two very interesting character studies. One on Mark Landis, showing us his recreations of classic art pieces, why he does it, and small aspects of his personal life. The other being the man who is set out to find Landis and get him to stop. Landis is obsessed with his forgeries. While the man set to find him is just as obsessed with stopping him. Overall very enjoyable. I definitely recommend it.

"Art and Craft" from 2014 is about art forger Mark Landis.

Mark Landis is an odd person with ears that stick out. He looks like he's about 70, except at the time of the film, he was 59. He speaks softly, sometimes in incomplete thoughts.

And he has a strange hobby. He copies art and donates the art to museums, taking no money or tax deduction, and claims that it was his mother or sister Emily's wish that the museum have this particular piece. He doesn't have a sister Emily.

After years, an art registrar, Mark Leininger, caught onto him as he was doing his due diligence on some of the donated art. He realized that there were as many as six copies of the same painting donated around the country.

He actually hasn't broken any laws because it was up to the museum experts whether or not to accept the art.

Leininger decided to give Landis an art show, where viewers would be able to see the frauds and learn about them. Leininger said that he had no idea what he would say when he saw him - what he said was, "Glad to see you." He's such an unassuming man, you can't see him as evil. And he isn't. Mischievous maybe.

The documentary is really remarkable - to see this man put on a priest collar - he gave away art using several aliases, pick up a briefcase, and, slumped over, walk to his car and go to the next museum. One of Leininger's theories about Landis is that he likes putting one over on the experts. He was encouraged at the show to display his talent by painting his own original works.

An only child, Landis was very close to both of his parents and had a nervous breakdown when his father died. He took care of his mother after Katrina, and her death is still very upsetting to him. His apartment is filled with her things and photos. He now goes to Menninger Clinic and sees a psychiatrist there and receives medication. He's a sad man, but doing the art work gives him adventures.

The most interesting thing about this documentary is Landis himself, though seeing how he does the forgeries is fascinating. He is very talented, and he gives the copy place a lot of business (he does a lot with copying things to different sizes).

Recommended -- no question, he's an oddball. Not sure what he's doing now - he said at the end he really can't continue giving away art work, now that everyone has his number. But he did put on that priest collar...don't put anything past him.

Art and Craft is one of the most fascinating documentaries about art that I have ever seen. It's well made, well put together, and delivers a very satisfying experience overall. In fact, this film fascinated me more than some live action movies have.

Art and Craft is a documentary that follows a few days in the life of famous art forger, Mark. A Landis. Mr. Landis is a savant who has spent 30 years deceiving museums with his drawings by making them believe that they actually have art by a famous artist, when, in fact it's just him. Landis has the amazing ability to copy a painting almost exactly like the original artist, although Landis is not a very good artist, rarely paints original art of his own, and prefers instead to cheat and copy. This film explores Landis as we see him go through his childhood, learn how he became obsessed with art, how his fraud was eventually exposed, and also see him prepare for an exhibit based upon his "fake" work.

This documentary was a very pleasant surprise. After weeks of films that were okay, but lackluster, Art and Craft's high quality was a breath of fresh air. This documentary doesn't portray Landis as a criminal or villain, or glorify him as some sort of hero. Instead, it just portrays him as a real human being who is a curiously strange person. In total, Landis has given 47 forged paintings to 46 art museums around America. In the film, we see interviews with Landis himself where he explains why he became a forger, what his life is like, and his understanding of his mental problems. We also see interviews with people who have met Landis, or people who worked at various art museums that Landis has tried to give forged paintings to, and how they may or may not see him as a villain. This documentary method is quite effective and allows us to see perspective from both sides.

Some of the directing choices in this film were interesting as well. Filmmakers Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman really show they know how to use a camera. Sequences such as the one where we see Landis's photo gallery and his forged art really help to emphasize him as a person. While I quite liked how the regular scenes kept being intercut with movie clips from films like Casablanca and Charlie Chan, as Landis is shown to be a bit of a classic film fan, having grown up watching a lot of television and movies.

Art and Craft is a wonderfully made documentary about one of the most fascinating characters of real life art. I've watched plenty of great documentaries in the past, but this one reminds me of why I find filmmaking to be interesting in the first place. I definitely recommended this film.