Watch The Mystery of Picasso

The Mystery of Picasso is a captivating 1956 documentary film that delves into the intriguing world of one of the greatest and most enigmatic artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. The film follows the French film director, Henri-Georges Clouzot, as he collaborates with Picasso to capture the creative process of the influential artist on camera. The end result is a mesmerizing film that showcases the intimate and thought-provoking process of creating art with amazing details that astound and thrill the audience.

The film focuses entirely on Picasso's art, and rests solely on his shoulders to deliver an unusual but absorbing artistry. It opens with the artist sitting at a blank canvas as Clouzot begins to film him from different angles. The camera trails every brushstroke and pencil drawing as Picasso creates one masterpiece after another. One can see his artistic process and the mental energy he exudes in order to conjure the complex and magnificent works that gave him such status. The film captures the dynamism and creativity of Picasso's art, marked by his fluidity and zest for experimentation.

One of the unique features of the film is that it also documents Picasso's creative process. Unlike most documentaries, this film offers an up-close look at how an artist works, from his initial sketches to the planning and drawing stages to the final product. Clouzot highlights the ethos of the artist's creativity, showing the seeming lack of order and the fluidity of the artist's imagination. The audience gets to witness how Picasso moves from one design to the next with the ease of an expert in complete creative immersion.

The documentary offers stunning representations of Picasso's works across different media: sculpting, painting, drawing – even using light! - not to mention murals, and the camera deftly captures the physical and emotional intensity of the artistic endeavour. To draw viewers deeper into the artist's methods, Clouzot has employed a unique technical effect: he placed the camera lens behind the blank canvas, sometimes using two-way mirrors so the images of Picasso's hand and the emerging forms on the canvas merge into one. The result is a stunning and highly realistic portrayal of the artist's technique.

Also exceptional in The Mystery of Picasso is the use of Claude Renoir's colour cinematography. The film was shot in Eastman Color, a technology that produced eye-popping hues and clarity even in dim lighting. Consequently, the film gives viewers the chance of seeing the works of Picasso exactly as intended, with a rich and vivid quality that enhances his artistry in bold and colourful ways. The depth of the movie's colours adds to its surrealism and its breathtaking impact.

All the while, the film unfolds with an intriguing and suspenseful soundscape thanks to composer Georges Auric’s jarring score which magnifies the drama and intensity of drawing and painting. The combination of these unique elements creates a mesmeric work that places the audience in the middle of Picasso's world, making it as close to experiencing the artist's magic as one can get in a movie or even in person.

In short, The Mystery of Picasso remains one of the only true looks into the artist's methods, presented in a form that immerses one completely into the artist’s eccentric personality and creative process. It is an enthralling journey that lifts the veil of mystery, unveiling so much of the secret of Picasso's triumphs. To be sure, the documentary is visually magnificent and exciting, and it is an utterly unforgettable experience that both art fanatics and novices will enjoy equally. While the film is a masterful evocation of a great artist and his art, it goes beyond that in capturing an honest if elusive look at creativity at its most singular, as seen through the eyes and hands of a legend.

The Mystery of Picasso is a 1956 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 14 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.6.