Finding Vivian Maier

John Maloof's documentary relates the fascinating story of two highly-driven people. One is Maloof himself, who in 2007 purchased at a storage auction a box of old photographic negatives, which he developed and began posting on the Internet to enthusiastic response. Many felt that Maloof had discovered an exceptionally talented, entirely unknown photographer of Chicago street life named Vivian Maier, and his desire to collect, catalogue, and promote her work became as obsessive as was her photo-taking. Maloof not only seeks to accumulate and publish as much of Maier's output as possible, but also to research her life story, a quest that ultimately reveals a woman of mystery and contradiction who spent most of her life as a nanny in the Chicago area. Maloof tracks down families she worked for (including Phil Donahue's), who offer illuminating (if also often contradictory) recollections. Maloof also goes through everything that Maier, a hoarder, left behind in storage; hires genealogical specialists to ferret out information about her childhood in New York; and even travels to her mother's home village in France. And he visits the neighborhood where Maier spent her last days, interviewing some locals who knew her—at least as far as she allowed herself to be known. Finding Vivian Maier doesn't answer all of our questions about Maier—or Maloof. But that seems appropriate for this filmmaking labor of love about a woman whose oddly secretive artistic life appears to also have been a labor of love. It's fortuitous that these two found one another, as they prove a perfect match. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include “Vivian Maier's Super 8 Footage” (16 min.), audio recordings of Maier, a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an intriguing documentary.] (F. Swietek)