Every collector dreams of finding that rare treasure, but John Maloof was really lucky when he bought a box of photographic negatives* at auction* for US$380. All taken by an unknown woman named Vivian Maier, most of the photos were street candids*. Maloof bought more of her work as well as her collections, and began finding out who she was.

    Maloof, with co-director Charlie Siskel, has turned his search into a documentary*.

    The photos are special, some of passers-by, some of homeless people, and some of children, fully capturing* their innocence*. Why Maier took these pictures, and why she never showed them to anyone else all her life, is a mystery*.

    Also mysterious is the woman herself. Maloof traveled to places like Chicago and even a village in the French Alps to find out her true identity*. Maier was a nanny* and maid for most of her life, and many of her employers were interviewed. They said she was a secretive* woman who collected newspapers with an interest in violent* and strange stories.

    Although Maier was highly praised by famous photographers like Mary Ellen Mark, Maloof thought the world was slow to truly recognize her value.

    Despite her proud nature and strange hobbies, those who knew Maier not only agreed she had her artistic talent, but also admired her and really liked her. However lonely and poor her life may have seemed, it is certain that she lived it on her own terms, and her lifestyle made it possible for her to follow her passion*, bed and board taken care for by her employers. She found out, early on, how to live as an artist—if only for herself—something anyone trapped in a dull nine-to-five might well envy*.

    Well shot and skillfully edited by Aaron Wickenden, the movie is an interesting detective* story, which even has a dramatically* dark ending. (SD-Agencies)