A Man Named Pearl (2006)
Tentmakers Entertainment

Description

Balanced gracefully on a ladder, deftly carving with his electric hedge trimmer, Pearl Fryar has the elegance and strength of a dancer. He is, by contrast, a topiary sculptor, an artist whose medium is discarded or junk plant life and whose canvas is his magical and fantastical garden. A Man Named Pearl chronicles the story of Pearl's dazzling garden as well as his extraordinary life, both of which serve as inspirations to his family, his community, and the thousands of visitors who come to experience Pearl's world each year. The film traces Pearl's journey from a small town sharecropper's son to an internationally-acclaimed artist, focusing in particular on his position as the celebrated cultural and spiritual icon of his impoverished town. Now 68, the soft-spoken Pearl has just one wish for all those who wander through his living art; they must leave feeling differently than when they arrived.

Collected reviews and ratings

10 Amazon user reviews

This film is not so craven as to invent huge villains for Pearl to overcome. The standard demons of lingering racial stratification, self-esteem, community doubt and the clock will have to do.
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9.2 Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

The film is as thoughtfully free-form as the living sculptures, meandering from meditations on plants to the elements of community.
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7.0 Los Angeles Times | Gary Goldstein

Though the film could've used more technical insight into Pearl's artistic process, it's hard not to be stirred by this hopeful portrait.
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7.0 New York Times | Jeannette Catsoulis

Assembled without frills or fuss, "A Man Named Pearl" is as much a portrait of a small Southern town as of an unassuming black folk artist.
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7.0 Salon.com | Andrew O'Hehir

Much of the fascination in Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson's documentary emerges from how this still-segregated Southern town is dealing with (and endeavoring to exploit) its homegrown genius.
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6.0 Boxoffice Magazine | Matthew Nestel

Everything is just sort of on cruise control. Sure, the quirky boy-meets-girl thread in Pearl finding his wife Metra is sweet, but what about some rainy days where he has to sit inside and simply stare out at his topiaries?
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5.0 Variety | Ronnie Scheib

Though filmmakers Scott Galloway and Brent Pierson tarry amid the flora, following Pearl with his chainsaw as he climbs rickety ladders or trims trees by lamplight, their camera claims no privileged freedom to soar above or move through the three-dimensional structures.
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3.3 Time Out | Ben Kenigsberg

A more critical social perspective might have given A Man Named Pearl some edge, but instead the movie pads itself to 78 minutes with endless platitudes about self-invention, hard work and so-called small-town values.
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