Director-writer Corinna Belz’s “Gerhard Richter Painting’’ is a rarity: a documentary without talking heads. Instead of trotting out people — friend and foe — to comment on the renowned German abstract painter, Belz allows Richter to tell his own story.
In close-ups and long shots, the camera lingers on the 80-year-old at work in his spacious, white-walled Cologne studio. He pauses, contemplates his newest work in progress, takes a stroll in his garden and returns to the canvas. Most fascinating is his use of giant squeegees to spread layers of color on canvases.
While recording the process might delight moviegoers, it’s a turnoff to Richter. “Painting under observation [is] the worst thing there is,” he tells Belz. “Worse than being in the hospital.”
That said, Richter returns to painting, and Belz to filming her insightful documentary.