Master at work

>> The Mystery of Picasso documents the artist's flare for performance

by JOANNE LATIMER

In his prime, Pablo Picasso was never camera- shy. Just look at the snapshots of Picasso at the bullfights with all his women. Pop culture's collective consciousness shares a fixed image of Picasso that is anything but accidental: he's shirtless, his arms crossed across that barrel chest, challenging the camera to capture his brilliance. He loved to present this image to the media, knowingly creating his character for the history books.

It's no surprise, then, that Picasso agreed to be the lead in a film about creative genius. It's a documentary of sorts about the process of painting. The Mystery of Picasso intends to "discover the secret mechanism that guides the creator." For the first time, it claims, a "genius's blind passion will be shown in public." Picasso's the genius in question, and thankfully he's a big ham.

Henri-George Clouzot made the film in '56, with George Auric providing the epic background music. They filmed Picasso from behind, painting on transparent paper. We can't see Picasso's hand or the brush, but we see each line as he puts the ink wash on paper to the accompaniment of a thunderous orchestra. Clouzot and his cameraman Claude Renoir are also in the film, consulting Picasso, who's clearly in charge. I'm not sure that we discover the secret that guides the creator, but we get a sense of Picasso's media savvy. His role, he knows, is to provide drama and create a narrative in each picture. Of course, he adds some of his own myth-making--standing, arms crossed over bare chest every chance he gets, his eyes piercing into the camera.

"I've got a surprise for you," Picasso warms the crew, turning a sketch of a fish into a rooster in a few dept strokes. Picasso switches to oil paints and does a gorgeous painting of a goat. Time-lapse techniques help keep things moving.

"The public will think you did [the painting] in 10 minutes," protests Clouzot, off camera. "How long did it take?" asks Picasso. "Five hours," answers Clouzot. "Now they know," he answers.

Watching Picasso paint isn't nearly as fun as watching him perform between takes. Picasso's inner publicist is close to the surface here, and that makes the film doubly enjoyable.

The Mystery of Picasso opens Friday at Cinéma du Parc