I’m a sucker for offbeat, quirky documentaries. My favorites have a little dose of crazy – either in the characters or the story or both. For me, the craziness is what makes it human and compelling.
The story in “Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock?” is so strange you’ll have a hard time believing it’s true – an elderly female truck driver (you read that right) of very modest means buys a cheap painting in a thrift store and discovers, to her amazement, that it appears to be an authentic Jackson Pollock (the drippy guy) painting worth several million dollars. And that’s just the beginning.
In order to certify a master work of art (and thereby sell it for big money), you need experts to give their stamp of approval. This quest for authentication leads to an epic culture clash: brash, street smart and determined trucker lady vs. erudite, snobby and skeptical art critic. Throw a world renowned forensic scientist and a felonious art promoter into the mix and you’re in for quite a trip.
I won’t reveal any further details but this film is a gem – in a relaxed way it explores class boundaries, the battle between science and art and the inner workings of the art world, all told through the eyes of some wonderfully eccentric characters.