'Master Of Light' A Review

Master Of Light is a documentary about George Anthony Morton, a classical painter. The film follows Morton as he paints, goes to museums, discusses Rembrandt, starts therapy, and returns to his hometown to contend with his past and paint his family.

The film contends with a wide range of themes- race, racism, incarceration, drugs, poverty, familial trauma, transformation, and art. Shot in an unintrusive fly-on-the-wall style with some audio narration taken from straightforward interviews it coveys a quiet intimacy juxtaposed with an unshakeable sense of volatility, a reflection of it's subject. The socio-economic situation is very complex and it would be easy to make judgements, prescribe shortcuts(as Morton's girlfriend perhaps justifiably does at one point) but neither Morton or director Rosa Boesten is willing to turn away and as a result what the film conveys is much more nuanced and powerful. It is clear his past and his struggles is intricately woven with his journey as an artist, the two things are in some ways combined, so both for Morton and for Boesten as she puts the film together these two themes reflect and help to explain each other. It's fascinating and singular.

Emotionally demanding, engrossing, insightful.

Currently streaming on HBO Max.

See It.