Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

"She's never not performing," says one friend. And the documentary, "Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present," confirms it.

Briskly edited and brightly shot.

In place of evenhandedness, the film gives us a full sense of a personality and intelligence so riveting that we begin to comprehend why all those hundreds of thousands lined up at the MoMA.

Abramovic is raw and likeable, if mostly inscrutable.

The film's centerpiece is the retrospective devoted to Abramovic at the Museum of Modern Art in the spring of 2010.

The film goes a long way to establish the intellectual seriousness and dedication involved in her ambitious series of art stunts.

It's a shame that the people who really need to see Matthew Akers' transfixing debut documentary, Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present, won't go near it.

Like any good documentary, ""The Artist Is Present" gives insight into the life and work of a truly talented lady. Her works may not be for all tastes she but obviously has an audience if MoMA is any indication.

...for the 2 1/2 month run of the [MoMA] show, Marina would sit completely still in a chair as visitors cued up to sit across from her and look into her eyes. The effect is incredibly and unexpectedly moving.

It demonstrates how cinema can actually make the artist seem present, offering an empathetic fellow consciousness that mirrors one's soul.

If you have been looking for the natural meeting place of Jafar Panahi's document of life under house arrest This is Not a Film and Justin Bieber's popumentary Never Say Never, look no further.

An exhilarating, elegantly executed film that holds a mirror up to the art world, its protagonists and its devotees, forcing us to question the whole circus.