I saw the new Tamra Davis documentary, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child at the Nuart theater in Los Angeles last night. It was fabulous from frame one.
It goes through the life of Basquiat via the lens and brain of friend, Tamra Davis. There are interviews with Erika Bell (one of the first to fly up on the screen), Maripol, Fab
5 Freddy, Glenn O'Brien, Kenny Scharf and a slew of others. Frequent Madonna references in the film, including photographs of Madonna and Basquiat together and many Maripol polaroids.
From Basquiat's relationship with his mother and father to Andy Warhol to his creative soul - it's a captivating documentary that takes the viewer through the long gone, funk hole glamorous, pre-gentrified New York City. The world many early fans romanticized and fell in love with. Archival footage of the seedy city and the artists it gave birth to. You really get a sense of the real world from which Madonna emerged from, a world that no longer exists. A must see for a real Madonna fan.
Great soundtrack by Beastie Boys Adam Horovitz, the filmmakers husband.
Click HERE for the official Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child film website. The film plays for one week at the Nuart theater in Los Angeles.
