First Man
Halloween
Ant-Man and the Wasp
American Vandal
Log in with Facebook
OR
By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango.
Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password.
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
View All Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present News
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (2)
"She's never not performing," says one friend. And the documentary, "Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present," confirms it.
Briskly edited and brightly shot.
In place of evenhandedness, the film gives us a full sense of a personality and intelligence so riveting that we begin to comprehend why all those hundreds of thousands lined up at the MoMA.
Abramovic is raw and likeable, if mostly inscrutable.
The film's centerpiece is the retrospective devoted to Abramovic at the Museum of Modern Art in the spring of 2010.
The film goes a long way to establish the intellectual seriousness and dedication involved in her ambitious series of art stunts.
This insightful, rather than uncritical, documentary justifies its place on the big screen.
It's a shame that the people who really need to see Matthew Akers' transfixing debut documentary, Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present, won't go near it.
Like any good documentary, ""The Artist Is Present" gives insight into the life and work of a truly talented lady. Her works may not be for all tastes she but obviously has an audience if MoMA is any indication.
...for the 2 1/2 month run of the [MoMA] show, Marina would sit completely still in a chair as visitors cued up to sit across from her and look into her eyes. The effect is incredibly and unexpectedly moving.
It demonstrates how cinema can actually make the artist seem present, offering an empathetic fellow consciousness that mirrors one's soul.
If you have been looking for the natural meeting place of Jafar Panahi's document of life under house arrest This is Not a Film and Justin Bieber's popumentary Never Say Never, look no further.
A fascinating and surprisingly moving documentary that not only offers us an insight into the work of an artist of great charisma and magnetic presence but also shows a lot about the transforming power of Art and a challenging Art form that is not appreciated as it should be.
Super Reviewer
As humans, we have a tendency to laugh at things we do not understand. Top of that list is performance art. So, it is a good thing that the documentary "Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present" has come along to make sense of it in general. The subject is Marina Abramovic, the so-called 'grandmother of performance art' as she is receiving a career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art where young artists after participating in a three day artists' boot camp at her home in the Hudson Valley recreate some of her pieces. As far as Ms. Abramovic goes, she sits still in a chair for hours, allowing herself to be a 'mirror' to those sitting across from her, including one possibly recognizable actor looking for tips. That same sense of reflection can be extended to Fox News commentators who seem to be in serious need of smelling salts when discussing the nudity in her work. Throughout her career, Abramovic has used her body as a canvas which might possibly shock some. Otherwise, her work reminds me a little of the work of Pina Bausch in being about the relationship between the genders which unlike the cheorographer is more about moving as little as possible. Well, except for the epic piece she did that involved the Great Wall of China. Who knows what the Chinese authorities thought of that?
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.
200 Essential Movies
Chosen by RT staff!
200 Freshest Movies
The best-reviewed since 1998
30 Great Scenes
30 great scenes in Rotten movies
Best of Netflix
Movies and shows to binge now
More News & Features
View All