Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat

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Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat

Released May 11, 2018

1h 18m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

88%

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51 Reviews

57%

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50+ Ratings

Never-before-seen works, writings and photographs offer insight into the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat as a teenager in New York in the late 1970s. The times, the people and the movements of the city help Basquiat form his artistic vision.

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Critics Consensus

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat offers an insightful look into a key period of the artist's life, his peers and influences, and the early '80s art world.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

Down, delightfully dirty and almost impossible to reconcile with last year's record-breaking $110 million sale of Basquiat's untitled skull painting, Boom for Real is for real all right.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 23, 2018

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

The central character in the film remains curiously enigmatic, like a drawing that hasn't been completely coloured in.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 25, 2018

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

This could be deliberate, making the point that Basquiat was essentially unknowable, but it makes for a film that's considerably less engaging than its subject.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 22, 2018

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Not only explores this time in the artist’s life, but also puts the arts scene in New York City1 at the time into illuminating context.

Feb 12, 2024

Full Review

Jason Adams

The Film Experience

Even more than just feeling truthful about the man himself it paints a vital portrait of the time and place that he worked in and helped catapult to eternal coolness

Jul 2, 2021

Full Review

Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

The time and place is so miraculously captured that it feels like you're looking at life on another planet -- one where while punk-rock kids moved in the same circles as hip-hop performers, and the resulting art is a ragged and fully representational.

Jun 17, 2020

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p G

Great documentary, you are being transported to NY and following the steps and creative path of Jean Michel.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/11/23

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Elisa D

Didn't learn much about Basquiat, but it's an interesting capture of the mid-70s in downtown Manhattan.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/02/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Totally captures the time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

emily n

was about the scene more than him.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

Never-before-seen works, writings and photographs offer insight into the life of Jean-Michel Basquiat as a teenager in New York in the late 1970s. The times, the people and the movements of the city help Basquiat form his artistic vision.

Director: Sara Driver
Producer: Rachel Dengiz, Sara Driver
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Magnolia Pictures, Bunny Lake Films, Le Pacte
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 11, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 21, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $164.5K
Runtime: 1h 18m

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