One of the most influential and visionary artists of the past century is celebrated in this documentary which covers the highlights of his fascinating career. The format of the film mirrors the restless reality of his life; an inveterate traveller and always on the move, Max Ernst lived and worked in Germany, France, and America. His nomadic way of life kept him searching: "A painter is lost if he finds himself." This film looks at his involvement with the Dadaists in Cologne, his time in Paris, his flight to New York, his life in America, and his return to Europe, revealing the "private, brittle places of refuge" he created at various stages in his life.

Completed in 1991 by the German producer Peter Schamoni, this 90-minute program includes remarkable footage of the German-born artist Max Ernst, who moved to the United States during World War II and later became an American citizen (throughout, the artist speaks in English, French, and German). In this magnificent production, great effort was made to obtain archival material of Max Ernst's life story as well as historical footage of the times he lived in. A soldier in World War I, Ernst was violently opposed to war, suffering periods of internment in concentration camps, which strongly reinforced his life-long desire for liberty. His marriage to Peggy Guggenheim, though short-lived, opened up the New York art world to him. During his prolific career, he also made collages and painted murals in the home of his friend Paul Edward, the French poet. His surrealist artwork was later influenced by his 12 years of living in Sedona, Arizona. When he would come to a "dead end with painting," he began making sculptures, which was for him "like taking a vacation." As a documentary about art, this program is superb, both for the quality of the cinematography and the visual metaphors that relate landscape and political events to the artist's paintings. --Anne Barclay Morgan