Dream Of Light

Any summary of Spanish director Victor Erice's captivating documentary would sound more like a warning than the enthusiastic recommendation it merits. On the surface, Erice's film is simply a leisurely, two-and-a-half-hour portrait of celebrated Spanish painter Antonio Lopez Garcia as he attempts to paint the quince tree that grows in his Madrid courtyard. Erice follows Garcia's progress over the course of three months in 1990, starting in late September; Garcia tries to capture the moment when morning light falls across the tree's top branches, leaving the rest in shadow. Garcia's technique is as precise as a land surveyor's: After carefully marking his own positi...