ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Bento de Espinosa If you like patriotic movies, in which it is said that you must be thankful for living in the USA, because the rest of the world is really awful, if you like stereotypes, if you think that the Germans are always the bad guys and Russians have vodka for breakfast, if you think that contemporary art is crap and only realistic painting is real art and if you like artificial dialogs that are never spoken in real life, then this film is for you.And I am saying all this even though I normally actually like movies that people classify as "art movies", like many European films use to be!My humble opinion: Boring.

gradyharp LOCAL COLOR is one of those films that move sensitive audience members despite its flaws. The story by George Gallo (also responsible for the script) is based on a true event - the coming together of a young student artist with a crusty alcoholic master painter and how one summer of cohabitation in the beauty of Pennsylvania's countryside sets the stage for the transformation of each. The idea is excellent and the story does indeed provide information about the importance of representational art in a world preferring the jolt of 'progressive art' for both the novice art appreciator and art students - among other values - but the dialogue at times is so repetitive and predictable that the mood frequently changes inappropriately. Armin Mueller-Stahl lends his usual credibility to the tortured soul of Nicoli Seroff, a Russian landscape artist of advanced years who came to America after the Stalin purges murdered his family and his wife Anya and who now paints very little because of his disillusionment with the contemporary art scene and the tenor of the times. Down the street (the film begins in Port Chester, New York - the year is 1974) lives a lad named John Talia, Jr (Trevor Morgan) who is at odds with his inner need to create art and the world of 'normal boys' as viewed by his father (Ray Liotta). Through a series of instances John discovers Nicoli and after frustrated attempts to study art with the master, Nicoli begrudgingly invites John to his summer studio in the wilds of Pennsylvania. There the two grow into each other's worlds, in part due to the external influences of art critic Curtis Sunday (Ron Perlman) and the lonely Carla (Samantha Mathis) - a young girl whose only child is now dead and who lives for the closeness of caring for Nicoli. How the boy and the master mend fences and learn form each other is the story of a summer of enlightenment. The acting is very fine, the photography matches the mood of the landscapes each of the two characters approach, and the story line is touching. Gallo somehow finds it necessary to pepper his dialogue with two expletives that grow boring and seem like laziness on the part of the script writing. But once over this bothersome hurdle the result of this film is a touching tribute to the concept of inspiration and the camaraderie of master and pupil. Especially fine for art students who are faced with the dilemma of representational versus non-representational expression in art. Grady Harp

Jay Harris This very beautiful & excellently acted movie,has suffered the same fate of similar type films. If a movie has no big name actors, nor is it an action ,adventure movie,it is hardly released on cine-plex screens.LOCAL COLOR was made in 2005,it ad a one screen run in 2007, & in August 2009 had a 2 screen run,thusly it generated a miserly $ 50,000 gross, Total cost was about $ 3.25 million.This is a very leisurely BUT not slow film was written & directed by George Gallo & is a semi-fictionalized version of one summer in his own life when he was a late teen. He had dreams of being a landscape painter & much of the film is done in beautiful landscapes. The director puts his own vision into each scene & the result is very beautiful.What really makes the movie stand-out is the superb acting & settings.The young lad is played by Trevor Morgan, an up and coming actor. Armin Mueller-Stahl is the older painter who mentors our lad, He of course commands every one of his scenes,he is one of those actors known for this. The scenes between the two of them have have a quiet intensity,that is excellent.In worthy support are some of the better actors available. Samantha Mathis, Ray Liotta, Diana Scawid, Ron Perlmann & Charles Durning, They all are excellent.This film is now on DVD & for those who like adult dramas about human relationships I highly recommend it.The film has an R rating due to certain words our main character uses.It does come over OK though as it fits his character to a T.Ratings: ***1/2 (out of 4) 95 points (out of 100) 9 (out of 10)

hollyinthewoods Most of the time when I see a film, I instantly forget about it the minute I walk out the theater door. This movie is different. It's been three weeks now since I've seen "Local Color" and I can't stop thinking about it. There are scenes so poignant that I can still hear the dialogue echoing in my head. There's a scene in particular early on in the film when the old painter looks up to the sky and asks his young protégé, "What color are the clouds? You think that they're white, but look again". Since seeing this film, I too find myself looking around me, analyzing the color and beautiful nuances of life. This film has honestly changed the way I look at things.Furthermore, this film is very funny. The humor is very human and it takes you by surprise. I laughed out loud a lot. I love this film.