The Past Is a Grotesque Animal (2014)

2014-06-151h 17m

A personal, accessible look at an artist - Kevin Barnes, frontman of the endlessly versatile indie pop band of Montreal - whose pursuit to make transcendent music at all costs drives him to value art over human relationships. As he struggles with all of those around him, family and bandmates alike, he's forced to reconsider the future of the band, begging the question - is this really worth it?

Related Movies

1062416-thumbnail

Edward Hopper (2007)

Hopper, one of America’s most admired artists, captured the shared realities of American life with poignancy and enigmatic beauty. His iconic images, set in unexceptional places, reveal the poetry of quiet, private moments. Hopper’s influences, which vary from French impressionism to the gangster films of the 1930s, are explored through archival photos, footage of locations he painted in New York and along the New England coast, and interviews with artists Eric Fischl and Red Grooms.

704-thumbnail

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Capturing John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in their electrifying element, 'A Hard Day's Night' is a wildly irreverent journey through this pastiche of a day in the life of The Beatles during 1964. The band have to use all their guile and wit to avoid the pursuing fans and press to reach their scheduled television performance, in spite of Paul's troublemaking grandfather and Ringo's arrest.

565357-thumbnail

We Are Little Zombies (2019)

Their parents are dead. They should be sad, but they can't cry. So they form a kick-ass band. This is the story of four 13-year-olds in search of their emotions.

234937-thumbnail

Forever (2006)

Père-Lachaise - one of the world's most famous and beautiful cemeteries - is the final resting-place of a gifted group of artists from all eras and corners of the world. Some - such as Piaf, Proust, Jim Morrison and Chopin - are worshiped to this day. Others have fallen into oblivion, or are visited occasionally by a single admirer. In Forever we see the mysterious, calming and consoling beauty of this unique cemetery through the eyes of people of flesh and blood. Many come for their 'own' beloved: husbands, wives, family and friends. Others Honor 'their' artist by leaving behind a personal message or a flower. While admirers share with us the importance of art and beauty in their lives, the graveyard gradually reveals itself as a source of inspiration for the living. Death offers little consolation except for the passing of time, the melancholia of a moss-covered tomb, and the beauty and power of a piece of music, a poem or a painting Written by Cobos

725558-thumbnail

The Life and Death of Frida Kahlo (NaN)

A 1975 short documentary that focuses on the events that molded Frida Kahlo's life.

944476-thumbnail

Ich sehe dich und mich - Porträtmalerinnen (2022)

252511-thumbnail

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

743949-thumbnail

Ana Mercedes Hoyos (2009)

Documentary about Colombian artist Ana Mercedes Hoyos, which deals with slavery and Afro-Caribbean cultures.

11568-thumbnail

Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

Finally released from prison, Elwood Blues is once again enlisted by Sister Mary Stigmata in her latest crusade to raise funds for a children's hospital. Hitting the road to re-unite the band and win the big prize at the New Orleans Battle of the Bands, Elwood is pursued cross-country by the cops.

735153-thumbnail

Alice Pasquini - Figlia del mondo (2019)

The documentary, made by the students of RUFA documentary course, followed Alice Pasquini for many months, resuming her pictorial interventions, interviewing friends and family, collecting archival material and participating in meetings for the realization of the book. The flow of images is a sort of specific itinerary that Alice Pasquini takes when she decides to give form and substance to what her mind imagines.

413765-thumbnail

David Lynch: The Art Life (2017)

An intimate journey through the formative years of David Lynch's life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema's most enigmatic directors.

1085589-thumbnail

The Michelangelo Code: Lost Secrets of the Sistine Chapel (2008)

Art critic Waldemar Januszczak is on the quest to explain exactly what the Sistine Chapel's ceiling is actually trying to tell us.

739421-thumbnail

The Witch of Kings Cross (2020)

Sydney, in the 50s. Rosaleen Norton is a painter specialised in occult themes, infernal sabbatical visions exuding wanton sexuality. In conservative Australia, the Witch of King's Cross was soon accused of obscenity, and of taking part in satanic rituals, orgies and whatnot...

261345-thumbnail

Where the Lark Sings (1936)

Country girl Margit sits for the artist Sándor, from Budapest. She is fascinated and charmed by him, and agrees to accompany him to the capital, so he can complete the painting there. Disillusionment sets in, however, when Sándor wins a prize with the finished portrait and loses interest in her. Margit recognizes that her true happiness lies at home, with Pista, her faithful lover.

259019-thumbnail

Noise Matters (2013)

A satire on the relationship between fame and integrity in the life of eccentric characters exploring the "art" of making noise using trash and everyday objects.

1232484-thumbnail

Baldiga: Unlocked Heart (2025)

Using diary excerpts, photographs and memories from companions, the film paints the portrait of the artist Jürgen Baldiga who sensitively and authentically captured the West Berlin queer scene of the 1980s and early 1990s with his camera.

1079345-thumbnail

Hockney at the Tate (1988)

To mark his fiftieth birthday in 1988, London's Tate Gallery staged a major retrospective of his work. Melvyn Bragg joined David Hockney for an exclusive private view of the exhibition and they were filmed discussing pictures from all stages of Hockney's remarkable career.

13984-thumbnail

Fubar (2002)

Terry and Dean are lifelong friends who have grown-up together: shotgunning their first beers, forming their first garage band, and growing the great Canadian mullet known as "hockey hair". Now the lives of these Alberta everymen are brought to the big screen by documentarian Ferral Mitchener in an exploration of the depths of friendship, the fragility of life, growing up gracefully and the art and science of drinking beer like a man.

575294-thumbnail

Leonor Fini (1988)

Portrait of an Artist

254957-thumbnail

Frances Carroll & 'The Coquettes' (1940)

Bandleader Frances Carroll leads The Coquettes, an all-female band, in several swing tunes.