Filmmaker Lea Glob reveals her obsession concerning French painter Apolonia Sokol. Made up of a small fraction of the footage she shot over 13 years the film is a record of an artist trying to find her place in the art world, having doubts and then finally taking her place.
One part biography (of Sokol) and one part autobiography (Glob) this is a meaty film not only about the three women involved (Sokol's friend Oksana plays an important role) but also how women are seen in the art world and how they position themselves as well.
Don't go into APOLONIA APOLONIA expecting a breezy tale of an artist and her art. This is a dense film, the result of the filmmaker having spent so much time with her subject. This is not a puff piece but a film that really and truly gets to the heart of the people at the center. The film is so deeply rooted on the women in question that Glob stepped away from the editing of the film and let other go through the material. While she was the director, she was much too close to be able to sort through the hundreds of hours of footage objectively.
This is a film you give yourself over to and just let it go where it's going. You can't fight it, you just have to go with it if you want to be rewarded. The arc and threads of the tale that Glob has are not clearly defined and it isn't until you get to the end that you will have the "ah ha" moment.
I really liked this film a great deal. I liked that in time where we get so many fluffy bios of artists we have something more solid.
Recommended for those who want a film they can ponder.
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