Modigliani (2004)

Dramatized biography of painter Amedeo Modigliani, who competes with his rival Picasso in an art contest, hoping to raise the money to free his child from a convent.

Genre – Drama

Director(s) – Mick Davis

Writer(s) – Mick Davis

Cast – Andy Garcia, Elsa Zylberstein, German star Udo Kier and Omid Djalili

Blue Rider’s Role – Arranged bridge financing

Distributor(s) – MGM, Bauer Martinez Studios, many territorial distributors

Release Date – 2004

Synopsis – Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days and his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne’s bigoted parents send the baby to a distant convent to be raised by nuns. Modigliani is distraught and needs money to rescue and raise his child. The answer arrives in the shape of Paris’ annual art competition. Prize money and a guaranteed career await the winner. Neither Modigliani, nor his dearest friend and rival Picasso has ever entered the competition, believing that it is beneath true artists like themselves. But Modigliani signs up for the competition in a drunken and drug-induced tirade. Picasso follows suit and all of Paris is aflutter with excitement at who will win. With the balance of his relationship with Jeanne on the line, Modigliani tackles this work with the hopes of creating a masterpiece, and knows that all the artists of Paris are doing the same.

Links:
Internet Movie Database entry for Modigliani
Links to five Modigliani trailers (French, English, Quicktime, Flash and Real Player)