Here is the second in my series of reviews of little seen documentaries, Amir Bar-Lev's My Kid Could Paint That. The film follows the story of young Marla Olmstead, who begins painting at the age of 4 and quickly becomes a success, with her paintings selling for a total of well over $300,000. (The film, in contrast, made only $231,574 when in theaters according to Box Office Mojo.) She is profiled on 60 Minutes II and a child psychologist is brought in to look at the art and of film showing Marla working. The psychologist is very skeptical that Marla painted all the work attributed to her and the film becomes a mystery looking into the possibility that Marla's parents perpetrated a fraud. The documentary does not come to a definitive conclusion on the topic, but the conflict makes the story more compelling and the emotions of the people involved often say more than their words.
I highly recommend My Kid Could Paint That as a look not only into the art world but into the human heart, which is not always as pretty and innocent as a clever four year old's paintings.
