Anselm (2023) review

Wenders took two years to assemble this showcase of some of the creations by prodigious German painter/sculptor Anselm Kiefer, filming him bicycling around his studio to collect materials, using industrial equipment to pour molten lead on a new project and firing a blowtorch directly onto the canvases to give them his trademark "scorched" look (which was no doubt inspired by him growing up right after the conclusion of World War II).  This isn't the first documentary I've ever watched about the artist (I've also seen Sophie Fiennes' Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow from 2010) and, while the camerawork by Franz Lustig is reverential (it was originally shot in 3D), the sole "revealing" aspects of his mindset come courtesy of past interviews replaying on an old television - Wenders is (presumably) so enamored with Herr Kiefer he refuses to ask him specific questions or even dare to challenge him, instead simply reiterating what art fans should already know (his early fascination with Van Gogh, learning under Joseph Beuys and his interest in both Jewish poet Paul Celan and controversial philosopher Martin Heidegger).  In my personal travels, I've been fortunate to see several of Kiefer's monstrous works in person, and no film is going to be able to capture the enormity of it all, so my suggestion is to hit the road and visit a few museums ... but try not to pick anything up off the ground because you will be yelled at by security.