SEDONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! See exactly why Pablo Picasso was never called an a*****e in the splendid single-player drama A Weekend With Pablo Picasso, adapted from the stage show by star Herbert Siguenza and directed by Tim Powell and Todd Salovey. Pablo Picasso (Herbert Siguenza) is having himself a nice Friday bath when he gets a phone call from his agent, Daniel.
A rich American female collector has commissioned original works by the famous painter, an order of five paintings and three painted vases. She wants them by Monday morning. Picasso lets him know this is absolutely impossible but then finds out exactly how much she is going to pay. Picasso is then informed that Daniel has already sent someone to his studio to ensure he completes the work. That is when Picasso turns to the viewer and confronts them about invading his studio in order to make sure he isn’t slacking. However, the price is right, and Picasso will allow the viewer to spend the weekend with him as he gets to work. During the time spent with the famous artist creating, we discover what drives him and feeds his nightmares.
The film does not attempt to hide that it is an adaptation of a one-person show. The opening titles announce that this is a production of the San Diego Repertory Theatre, and Siguenza is credited as playwright-in-residence. Where A Weekend With Pablo Picasso differs in strategy from other one-man show adaptations like Sling Blade or A Bronx Tale is that it keeps the core monologue structure versus reworking the material with additional characters to illustrate the stories. This choice is one of the many triumphs of this production.
“A rich American female collector has commissioned original works by the famous painter, an order of five paintings and three painted vases.”
That unique stage energy that is so elusive when filmed flows seamlessly into the senses here. Siguenza’s method of putting the audience into a semi-antagonistic role is genius. It cements the verisimilitude but also increases engagement through audience involvement. You get to push around Picasso, you lucky dog! Powell’s brilliant cinematography creates cinematic intimacy while doing away with the claustrophobia inherent to stage adaptations. Ventilation occurs instantly when the doorbell rings, and we run through the garden to get bread at the gate. There are several shots exploring the painter’s private studio in loving detail that also increase the scope. There is always a new pile of paintings in the corner to get lost forever.
Siguenza is the sun, and all the focus rotates around him as his performance is mesmerizing. I am in awe of his delivery as well as his arrangement of the biographical material. Anything I know about Picasso starts and ends with a Repo Man soundtrack cassette bought from the Bangor Mall. Siguenza thoroughly schooled me on Picasso so much that I feel like some kind of art person. The fascinating dichotomy of Picasso belonging to the Communist Party while creating art to rake in money is on full display. Not only does Siguenza embrace this contradiction, but he also lays it out to the viewer where it makes sense. On top of this, Siguenza does live Picasso-style painting that Powell captures in uninterrupted shots. Both the speed and the passion come across in each slashing brush stroke, making an image in record time. Of the many unusual insights in the movie is the idea of the artist’s place in the political world.
Instead of compartmentalizing artwork from politics, Picasso saw art as an organic reaction to the gears of civilization and those caught in them. One quote is particularly devastating: “Paintings are not for decorating apartments. They are instruments of war. They are there to give form to our terrors as well as our desires.” I feel the same can be said for indie films like this. A Weekend With Pablo Picasso is an amazing cinema experience, and a weekend you will not want to forget.
"…That unique stage energy that is so elusive when filmed flows seamlessly into the senses here."
