Directed by Teller, the documentary Tim's Vermeer, which was produced by Penn Jillette and Farley Ziegler, follows an inventor named Tim Jenison as he attempts to unearth techniques possibly used by the 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, to produce realistic paintings. Tim, who is not short on funds, may be considered a tad obsessive. But then again, maybe that is how people with lots of money and free time on their hand are thought of. Yet, the sincerity and passion with which Tim approaches the self-imposed challenge are bound to win hearts.
Regardless of how one may feel about Tim’s theory and the methods he devices for testing it, (painting his own Vermeer with the help of optical devices,) the project becomes a sort of meditation on human resilience, imagination and the technological thought process. It also tackles the age-old question of where technology ends and art begins, and whether such a question should be asked at all. Quite fascinating and definitely intriguing.
Tim's Vermeer may not be for everyone, though, on second thought, maybe it should.