jcjs33-1 There are pretty landscape shots. Writers putting trite mouthings into actors mouths. With lesser actors this show would be silly. 'Art must uplift humanity or it's BS.' Not so because art of all those mentioned is also to stir humanity and express the dark side. The lead character even says those who don't drink hide the shadow side. Wrong , he lived in darkness and repressed his dark side by drinking and being one dimensional not expanding his horizons with something other than landscapes. There wasn't a breathing organism in his work nor expression of his pain. All the artist did was limit himself to dime a dozen landscapes. The discussions between the characters was grade school, trite stuff always giving the one character the upper hand the writer wanted. I tried to like it after reading all the first wow comments on here. I had to dig deep to see those i agreed with. I figure the great comments were from those connected to the movie. I was moved only once towards the end. The kid was way too passive. The scenery was nice and the music ridiculous. Just my opinion but nowhere show for me.

jotix100 John Talia Jr. wanted to be a painter. He realized that coming from a humble home and having a homophobic father, he didn't have a chance to make it in the art world. What's more, John wanted to absorb all he could from a reclusive landscape painter, Nicoli Seroff, that lived near him. For that, he appeals to Nicoli himself, who at first is puzzled by what John wants, so he refuses the lad. Seroff becomes intrigued by the young man's ambition and takes him as his assistant when he goes to a Pennsylvania farm where he works.Nicoli is a nasty, vodka drinking loud mouth who takes any opportunity he can to berate the young man; he even asks his new apprentice to do menial jobs around the farm. If John thought he was going to learn a lot from this guy, he was probably insane, but eventually master and pupil come to an understanding of what each one brings to a point they will remember forever. Relief comes in the shape of Carla, a neighbor of Nicoli, who awakens in the youth to a possibility of love.George Gallo, a painter himself, wrote and directed this drama that might be autobiographical, for all we know. The film, which opened in Manhattan recently, seemed to have been shelved for almost three years, although we saw it some time ago in other markets and overseas.Trevor Morgan is the young aspiring painter. He is credible and his inter action with a veteran actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is the most interesting aspect of the film. Mr. Mueller-Stahl makes a wonderful and complex Nicoli Seroff. Ray Liotta plays the homophobic father and Samantha Mathis is Carla.The film is a nostalgic trip to the past.

Claudio Carvalho In 1974, in the suburb of Port Chester, New York, the teenager aspirant artist John Talia (Trevor Morgan) has a troubled relationship with his homophobic father (Ray Liotta) that does not understand his talent. While visiting his friend Yammi (Charles Durning), John finds that the genius Russian painter Nicoli Seroff (Armin Mueller-Stahl) lives nearby and he decides to pay a visit to his idol. John finds a bitter alcoholic elder that still grieves the loss of his wife Anya many years ago but he successfully befriends the master. When Nicoli travels to the countryside in Pennsylvania, he invites John to go with him to teach him how to paint. Then John meets Nicoli's neighbor Carla (Samantha Mathis) who grieves that loss of her son, and the arrogant critic of art and Nicolai's friend Curtis Sunday (Ron Perlman). Along their vacation, the synergy of Nicoli and John improves their individual lives."Local Color" is a nostalgic and melancholic movie about life and passion for arts. The story is based on true events and is beautifully disclosed through the magnificent performance of the fantastic Armin Mueller-Stahl, very well supported by Trevor Morgan. The gorgeous Samantha Mathis has also a minor but important participation and she does not appear her stated age (36); therefore she fits perfectly to the role of Carla. The movie plays with emotions, oscillating between few bitterly funny moments (like for example when Nicoli shows the paintings of the children with mental retardation to his arrogant friend or his behavior in the art exposition in the countryside) and many heartbreaking moments. The message to follow the dreams is nice; the cinematography is beautiful; the pace is adequate and my only remark is to the pronunciation (or accent) of the narrator in long texts, which is difficult to be followed. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Mestre da Vida" ("The Master of the Life")

Calvinxxx-1 I enjoyed the movie very much, emotionally, intellectually, and visually. It contains no violence or sex or drugs or special effects, and doesn't need them one bit, holding my attention the entire time with the visuals, story, and interspersed words of wisdom.However: [1] some of the foreign language accents made the dialog difficult to hear & understand; [2] there is unnecessary overuse of swearing (especially the F-word, which is the only reason this movie was rated R). [3] The movie is balanced with humor and emotion, but most of the emotion that holds you throughout the film, except the final resolution last minutes, is unpleasant due to the exaggerated long-lasting dysfunctional reaction of some of the characters to loss, living in the depths of bitterness and depression for too long. [4] I will not recommend this movie because of 5-seconds of background narration, which did not add one bit to the side-character it applied to, or the film -- it only turned me off to the movie and stuck in my brain through the whole movie and afterward: the main character's mother of German ancestry, when watching old WWII movies, "secretly roots for the Germans." There would be no "local color" or art if the Nazi's won the war. I don't know of any Germans today except radical skinheads who think the world would be a better place if the Nazi's won WWII.