Plot: In 1974, in the suburb of Port Chester, New York, an aspiring teenage artist named John Talia has a troubled relationship with his deeply insecure father who does not understand his talent. While visiting his friend Yammi, John finds that the genius Russian painter Nicoli Seroff lives nearby, and he decides to pay a visit to his hero. John finds a bitter alcoholic elder who still grieves the loss of his wife Anya many years ago, but he successfully befriends the master. When Nicoli travels to the countryside in Pennsylvania for the summer, he invites John to go with him to teach him how to paint. Then John meets Nicoli's neighbor Carla, who grieves over the loss of her son, and the arrogant critic of art and Nicolai's friend Curtis Sunday. During their vacation, the teacher-student relationship between Nicoli and John improves their individual lives.
Alternative Plot: In 1974, 18-year-old John (Trevor Morgan) discovers that once-famous landscape painter Nicholi Seroff (Armin Mueller-Stahl) lives in his small town in New York state. Though Nicholi is a recluse, John talks his way into the artist's house with a bottle of vodka. After Nicholi warms to the young man, he offers John a chance to spend the summer with him at his Pennsylvania country house, in exchange for doing the housework. John agrees, and once there he falls for neighbor Carla (Samantha Mathis).
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