Documentary filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev's engaging documentary chronicaling the metioric rise of four year-old painting prodigy Marla Olmstead. Although Bar-Lev originally intended the doc as an exploration of the world of modern art, things took a drastic change when 60 Minutes ran a story that brought the validity of Marla's paintings into question. The rest of the movie deals with the Olmstead's endless pursuit to clear their names and prove that Marla did in fact paint the works without any help. As the story moves along, they merely dig themselves deeper and deeper. While Marla's mother is convincing, openly weeping in disbelief that people don't believe her little girl did the work, the father is unwittingly exposed even as he tries to prove otherwise. He coaches the toddler about the proper colors to use, urges her on when she clearly wants to stop and appears visibly agitated when she'd rather just be a normal kid. My Kid Could Paint That is an intriguing documentary that should spurn fueled debates amongst audiences and the art world alike. It's engaging and a little disturbing all at one.
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