Matthew Barney: No Restraint 2006

The most baffling film in the Festival is elucidated in this admiring career portrait of artist/filmmaker Matthew Barney.

“Whatever audiences might have wanted to know about sculptor-filmmaker Matthew Barney but were too embarrassed to ask is revealed in [this] accessible documentary… [Director] Alison Chernick literally gets on board the production of Barney’s last effort, the whaling-ship-set Drawing Restraint 9, to make something that’s more than just a making-of documentary… Barney is arguably the most famous living experimental filmmaker… His sculptures, drawings and installations, which are closely related to his film oeuvre, sell for big money… while the artist has a certain celebrity profile due to his good looks, manifest talent and marriage to Icelandic pop star Björk… Audiences who may have found the Cremaster movies beautiful but baffling and caught Drawing Restraint 9, will experience numerous, ‘Aha! That’s what he’s talking about’ moments here as Barney explains particular symbols in a no-nonsense way.” — Leslie Felperin, Variety