Mr. Movie review: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ one of best documentaries ever

This is the first time a Battelle Film Club film has been picked to lead this column over the release of a major motion picture. Finding Vivian Maier deserves the honor. This is as much a detective story as it is honoring an amazing artist.

Co-director John Maloof is a realtor who was writing a book on Chicago’s Portage Park. He needed photos for the book, and while going through stuff at an auction, he found some negatives. They looked like they would fit in his book, so he bought them.

Once in his possession, Maloof’s research on the photos revealed an artist who not only took more than 100,000 of them, but whose techniques with light and shadow, and eye for the perfect shot, were brilliant.

It turns out Vivian Maier — a woman no one ever heard of when she was alive — is one of the best photographers to ever walk the planet.

As he began publishing the photos, critic raves got Maloof curious about the woman who took them, and he began to explore her life. That’s the detective story and that was turned into one of the most fascinating documentaries I’ve ever seen.

Maloof and his co-writer and co-director Charlie Siskel — famed film critic Gene’s nephew — have created a film as mind-boggling as Maier’s photos. The lady was seriously talented. Her life story reveals a woman who was also seriously strange.

Fun stuff and — again — one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen, and one very much worth seeing on a big screen.

All films are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays at Battelle Auditorium, 902 Battelle Blvd., Richland.

Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for children. Series passes to all the films are $16.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ one of best documentaries ever."