Resurrecting the legendary rivalry between Italian painter Modigliani and Pablo Picasso Modigliani is a film that transports us to Paris in the beginning of the century during a time when the genius of Renoir is held in high regard. Often inebriated, drugged, without a penny in his pockets, but always willing to "discuss" the merits of his paintings Modigliani (Andy Garcia) is a man living on the edge. Literally, as his lungs are in an extremely poor condition, he has no money to provide for his illegitimate child, and he also happens to be a Jew madly in love with a Catholic girl (Elsa Zylberstein).

When his father-in-law announces that Modigliani's child will be sent to a convent in order to be spared from his indecency the unpredictable Italian maestro decides to enter Paris' annual art competition where a Grand Prize of five thousand francs will be awarded to the most daring and original painter. A prize this big would certainly allow Modigliani and Jeanne, the love of his life, to begin anew and provide for their child. But when a fellow-painter, the great Picasso (Omid Djalili), challenges Modigliani and his creative vision the art competition suddenly transforms into much more than a simple contest.

Directed by Mick Davis, better known for his involvement with the sequel to the now notorious 9 ½ Weeks, Modigliani left me with somewhat mixed feelings. Despite a remarkably solid cast the film visibly fails to deliver on a number of different levels. That certain element of credibility that separates average films from the really good ones is obviously not present in Modigliani and in my opinion part of the issue stems from the fact that the narrative is not structured in an adequate manner. There are simply too many loopholes in the story that prevent Modigliani from being an engaging production.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, is the harsh contrast between Andy Garcia and the rest of the supporting cast. It is almost painful to watch the tremendous gap between the passion which Andy Garcia brings to the screen and how everyone else responds to it. As a result there is a visible lack of cohesiveness between the main actors which becomes painfully unbearable during the second half of the film. Even the always reliable Elsa Zylberstein falls short of recreating a convincing portrait of Modigliani's love partner-her acting is often rather forced and some of the lines she is provided with extremely disappointing. It truly feels as if Andy Garcia was the only one that took this curious project seriously enough while everyone else joined along for the ride.

I am not convinced that this ambitious period piece could not have looked better especially considering the fact how delicate its camera work is. The cinematography of turn-of-the-century Paris looks absolutely stunning with gorgeously lit street cafes, lush architecture, and excellent costumes. Yet the acting required to support the plot is simply not there. Strange…yet, disappointing as this could have been an excellent film recreating one of the most exciting periods of our modern-day history.

How Does the DVD Look? Let me start off with the fact that for some unknown to me reason the US is one of the last places (yet again) to get a DVD release of Modigliani. So instead of a spectacular DVD presentation just as I felt after viewing Modigliani I am left with somewhat mixed feelings regarding the technical presentation of this film. First of all Modigliani appears to be PAL sourced (not s surprise I guess since I am convinced that the US distributors have acquired a European master) and as a result there is a light "ghosting" throughout the film. Generally speaking the print is rather free of any excessive distractions-dirt, color manipulation, contrast boosting, etc. Sadly Modigliani is not enhanced for 16/9 TV's and the 1.78:1 print is anything but attractive in my opinion. As I have said before proper progressive conversion (not cheap PAL ports) and anamorphic enhancement should be the standard!!

How Does the DVD Sound? Offered with optional English Dolby Digital Stereo and Dolby 5.1 English tracks the DVD sounds fairly acceptable to me. There are no detectable audio drop-outs yet the overall presentation is anything but impressive. Regardless, the DVD should meet the basic requirements of those willing to rent it.

Extras: The following extras have been provided on this DVD:

Original Theatrical Trailer-

Featurette-

Other Trailers- Irish Jam, House of Nine.

Final Thoughts: While not a disaster Modigliani is certainly a film that disappoints to say the least. This could have been an excellent period tribute to an era that spurred an enormous creative activity and to this date remains unmatched. Andy Garcia delivers a typical high-caliber performance as the controversial painter Modigliani though sadly the rest of the actors involved in this production fail to match his talent. The worst part-it shows!! Rent it!!