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Islands (1987)

Original title: Islands
1987 · 58 min
Directed by David Maysles · USA · New Hollywood

Where to watch in the United States: Stream: Criterion Channel. Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDB; availability changes.

Cast

Willy Brandt Jacques Chirac Christo Michel Debré Jeanne-Claude

Credits

Cinematography: Albert Maysles
Music: Scott Cossu
Produced by: Susan Froemke Joel Hinman

Plot

The Maysles' third film about the artists sees them trying to get three projects off the ground: wrapping the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris; wrapping the Reichstag; and surrounding eleven man-made islands in Florida with pink plastic sheets. As the latter is the only one that gets approval, it gets the bulk of this film.

Sinekatalog’s take

A behind-the-scenes documentary on the wrapping-art duo's quest to cover islands in pink plastic after other mega-projects stall. It is a lively account of artistic stubbornness and bureaucracy. Delightful for lovers of art documentaries.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.

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Ratings

IMDb: 7.2 / 10 (89 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.

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