Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
2010·Documentary·1h 28m
7.1
★
A thoughtful portrait of a renowned artist, this documentary shines the spotlight on New York City painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Featuring extensive interviews conducted by Basquiat's friend, filmmaker Tamra Davis, the production reveals how he dealt with being a black artist in a predominantly white field. The film also explores Basquiat's rise in the art world, which led to a close relationship with Andy Warhol, and looks at how the young painter coped with acclaim, scrutiny and fame.
Directed by Tamra Davis
new york city
painter
street artist
boy genius
biracial
woman director
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Self
Julian Schnabel
Self
Fab 5 Freddy
Self
Michael Holman
Self
Maripol
Self
Kevin Bray
Self
John Giorno
Self
Thurston Moore
Self
Rene Ricard
Self
Andy Warhol
Self (archive footage)
Crew
Tamra Davis
Director
Alexis Spraic
Producer
Tamra Davis
Producer
Michael Diamond
Music
Popular Reviews
21 reviews
Eva Millwerm
6.3★ · 08/15/25
Im just a fella who likes her documentaries
Im just a fella who likes her documentaries
Francisco Padilla
8.0★ · 10/24/24
the burden of representation killed this man :(
the burden of representation killed this man :(
LeonDeon
7.0★ · 01/12/19
Sadly this is the first real exposure I've had with Basquiat as an aspiring artist. I've heard his name before in art history classes and would look at his paintings but never paid it much more thought after the bell rung. I never really took the time to appreciate his work and value it. Not only was his work transcendent it was so ahead of its own time full of its own vibrant energy. So young and talented I can see why so many people were influenced by Basquiat as an artist. His work is one of the most modern masterworks in the modern world of art.
This film was made by his friend who knew him at the time he was on the come up as an artist. Seeing a lot of the archival footage of Basquiat and getting to learn who he was a person was one of the more fascinating portions of the documentary. It's nice to see how he was just a young kid with ideal dreams of being the best in his craft. Seeing him paint was so amazing, he has this rhythmic movement with his strokes making such enigmatic pieces. Seeing him be this young kid moving from place to place has such a humble beginning to it, it's so inspirational to anyone looking to be an artist or make a name for themselves.
What I feel like this film really needed was better audio work. A lot of the time the audio would pop and be either too loud or too quiet. I'm sure this was a relatively cheaper production, but still even using a lapel mic makes all the difference in these scenes. I wanted to know what people were saying about the young artist but sometimes I would have to rewind the film and make sure that I was properly catch was being said. At times it feels like the music choices were either not mixed well in with the film or were unnecessary to conveying a tone. Towards the end of the film that is the most evident because we already are getting the general tone from the stories that are being told about Basquiat at his rope's end.
It's just sad to see someone so young and talented being consumed by something so preventable. It's an amalgamation of being so young and successful with people looking to take you down at every opportunity. It makes sense that it destroyed Basquiat from the inside out. It's heartbreaking seeing him smile in the archival footage in the last year of his life knowing what I know now, that he was suffering all by himself. That he was looking for a friend. He just needed someone there with him to prevent his life from taking the turns it did. It's also how the world responded to a young black artist who came from graffiti work. How the posh self-proclaimed progressive art connoisseurs considered his work to be "primitive" and not up to snuff with other contemporary artists. Seeing these reviews literally killed Basquiat from the inside out. It wasn't easy being this young black man in the '80s with all the art world looking at you to produce your next masterpiece because if you failed people would inadvertently make you the staple of a black male in the art scene. That's a lot of pressure for just one individual to deal with. It doesn't matter how much you're able to take criticism, the pressure will just continue to mount itself on your back until it eventually gives out, and unfortunately, it happened to Basquiat. We lost one of the most influential artists of the 20th century to a lack of human empathy. That's the true crime here.
This film was made by his friend who knew him at the time he was on the come up as an artist. Seeing a lot of the archival footage of Basquiat and getting to learn who he was a person was one of the more fascinating portions of the documentary. It's nice to see how he was just a young kid with ideal dreams of being the best in his craft. Seeing him paint was so amazing, he has this rhythmic movement with his strokes making such enigmatic pieces. Seeing him be this young kid moving from place to place has such a humble beginning to it, it's so inspirational to anyone looking to be an artist or make a name for themselves.
What I feel like this film really needed was better audio work. A lot of the time the audio would pop and be either too loud or too quiet. I'm sure this was a relatively cheaper production, but still even using a lapel mic makes all the difference in these scenes. I wanted to know what people were saying about the young artist but sometimes I would have to rewind the film and make sure that I was properly catch was being said. At times it feels like the music choices were either not mixed well in with the film or were unnecessary to conveying a tone. Towards the end of the film that is the most evident because we already are getting the general tone from the stories that are being told about Basquiat at his rope's end.
It's just sad to see someone so young and talented being consumed by something so preventable. It's an amalgamation of being so young and successful with people looking to take you down at every opportunity. It makes sense that it destroyed Basquiat from the inside out. It's heartbreaking seeing him smile in the archival footage in the last year of his life knowing what I know now, that he was suffering all by himself. That he was looking for a friend. He just needed someone there with him to prevent his life from taking the turns it did. It's also how the world responded to a young black artist who came from graffiti work. How the posh self-proclaimed progressive art connoisseurs considered his work to be "primitive" and not up to snuff with other contemporary artists. Seeing these reviews literally killed Basquiat from the inside out. It wasn't easy being this young black man in the '80s with all the art world looking at you to produce your next masterpiece because if you failed people would inadvertently make you the staple of a black male in the art scene. That's a lot of pressure for just one individual to deal with. It doesn't matter how much you're able to take criticism, the pressure will just continue to mount itself on your back until it eventually gives out, and unfortunately, it happened to Basquiat. We lost one of the most influential artists of the 20th century to a lack of human empathy. That's the true crime here.
Sadly this is the first real exposure I've had with Basquiat as an aspiring artist. I've heard his name before in art history classes and would look at his paintings but never paid it much more thought after the bell rung. I never really took the time to appreciate his work and value it. Not only was his work transcendent it was so ahead of its own time full of its own vibrant energy. So young and talented I can see why so many people were influenced by Basquiat as an artist. His work is one of the most modern masterworks in the modern world of art.
This film was made by his friend who knew him at the time he was on the come up as an artist. Seeing a lot of the archival footage of Basquiat and getting to learn who he was a person was one of the more fascinating portions of the documentary. It's nice to see how he was just a young kid with ideal dreams of being the best in his craft. Seeing him paint was so amazing, he has this rhythmic movement with his strokes making such enigmatic pieces. Seeing him be this young kid moving from place to place has such a humble beginning to it, it's so inspirational to anyone looking to be an artist or make a name for themselves.
What I feel like this film really needed was better audio work. A lot of the time the audio would pop and be either too loud or too quiet. I'm sure this was a relatively cheaper production, but still even using a lapel mic makes all the difference in these scenes. I wanted to know what people were saying about the young artist but sometimes I would have to rewind the film and make sure that I was properly catch was being said. At times it feels like the music choices were either not mixed well in with the film or were unnecessary to conveying a tone. Towards the end of the film that is the most evident because we already are getting the general tone from the stories that are being told about Basquiat at his rope's end.
It's just sad to see someone so young and talented being consumed by something so preventable. It's an amalgamation of being so young and successful with people looking to take you down at every opportunity. It makes sense that it destroyed Basquiat from the inside out. It's heartbreaking seeing him smile in the archival footage in the last year of his life knowing what I know now, that he was suffering all by himself. That he was looking for a friend. He just needed someone there with him to prevent his life from taking the turns it did. It's also how the world responded to a young black artist who came from graffiti work. How the posh self-proclaimed progressive art connoisseurs considered his work to be "primitive" and not up to snuff with other contemporary artists. Seeing these reviews literally killed Basquiat from the inside out. It wasn't easy being this young black man in the '80s with all the art world looking at you to produce your next masterpiece because if you failed people would inadvertently make you the staple of a black male in the art scene. That's a lot of pressure for just one individual to deal with. It doesn't matter how much you're able to take criticism, the pressure will just continue to mount itself on your back until it eventually gives out, and unfortunately, it happened to Basquiat. We lost one of the most influential artists of the 20th century to a lack of human empathy. That's the true crime here.
This film was made by his friend who knew him at the time he was on the come up as an artist. Seeing a lot of the archival footage of Basquiat and getting to learn who he was a person was one of the more fascinating portions of the documentary. It's nice to see how he was just a young kid with ideal dreams of being the best in his craft. Seeing him paint was so amazing, he has this rhythmic movement with his strokes making such enigmatic pieces. Seeing him be this young kid moving from place to place has such a humble beginning to it, it's so inspirational to anyone looking to be an artist or make a name for themselves.
What I feel like this film really needed was better audio work. A lot of the time the audio would pop and be either too loud or too quiet. I'm sure this was a relatively cheaper production, but still even using a lapel mic makes all the difference in these scenes. I wanted to know what people were saying about the young artist but sometimes I would have to rewind the film and make sure that I was properly catch was being said. At times it feels like the music choices were either not mixed well in with the film or were unnecessary to conveying a tone. Towards the end of the film that is the most evident because we already are getting the general tone from the stories that are being told about Basquiat at his rope's end.
It's just sad to see someone so young and talented being consumed by something so preventable. It's an amalgamation of being so young and successful with people looking to take you down at every opportunity. It makes sense that it destroyed Basquiat from the inside out. It's heartbreaking seeing him smile in the archival footage in the last year of his life knowing what I know now, that he was suffering all by himself. That he was looking for a friend. He just needed someone there with him to prevent his life from taking the turns it did. It's also how the world responded to a young black artist who came from graffiti work. How the posh self-proclaimed progressive art connoisseurs considered his work to be "primitive" and not up to snuff with other contemporary artists. Seeing these reviews literally killed Basquiat from the inside out. It wasn't easy being this young black man in the '80s with all the art world looking at you to produce your next masterpiece because if you failed people would inadvertently make you the staple of a black male in the art scene. That's a lot of pressure for just one individual to deal with. It doesn't matter how much you're able to take criticism, the pressure will just continue to mount itself on your back until it eventually gives out, and unfortunately, it happened to Basquiat. We lost one of the most influential artists of the 20th century to a lack of human empathy. That's the true crime here.
chadma
7.0★ · 01/01/26
koschei
8.0★ · 12/19/25