Dalí's Last Masterpiece

Director David Pujol's documentary plays like a highly evolved example of the guided-tour videos that museums sell in souvenir shops. And the fact that the artist is the inimitable Salvador Dalí—and that Pujol has an elegant, lyrical eye—makes this a worthy, even memorable addition to arts (and travel) shelves. The Dalí Theatre-Museum in the artist's childhood hometown of Figueres in Catalonia opened in 1974 under Dalí's personal supervision. Topped by a geodesic dome, the museum offers a total-immersion experience in surrealist art à la Dalí. The incredible "Mae West Room" is a trompe l'oeil of bedroom furnishings that, when viewed at a key angle, resolves into the actress. There are also Dalí holograms, an automobile that rains inside, and Dalí's own crypt. In vintage clips, Dalí—sometimes speaking his famous " Dalínese" brand of English—comes across as a bit more lucid than the madcap public persona that he cultivated. Although it does not present a biographical perspective, the film spotlights breathtaking installations and bold experiments from the artist's late career, an era that critics tend to dismiss as largely buffoonery and self-promotion. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)