![]() The film begins with time-lapse footage of Kysilkova painting “The Swan Song,” a haunting nature morte in which a white bird lies dead in tall dark grass. Ree’s research led him to Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova, who had recently moved to Oslo, where two massive works were taken from the window of her first solo show in Norway. Rather, I’m in awe of how things played out, and fully aware that there was a certain amount of manipulation - not necessarily of the facts, but certainly in the way they’re presented - required to produce the cinematic equivalent of a cubist portrait, in which an artist and her unlikely muse are made to overlap, revealing unexpected dimensions of one another over time.īy the director’s own account, at the beginning of what would prove to be a three-year journey, Ree knew only that he wanted to make a film about an art heist (he started the project after the premiere of his 2016 chess-champ doc “Magnus”). ![]() I don’t mean to imply that this astonishing documentary isn’t truthful. That’s the word that comes to mind with Benjamin Ree’s “ The Painter and the Thief,” a stranger-than-fiction friendship story in which vérité techniques produce unbelievable results. This concludes my review of The Painter and The Thief movie.Incredible. Highly recommended, and not as depressing as it might seem at the beginning. The Painter and the Thief will do the same to you. And he has a wonderfully patient ability to allow his camera to linger, as in the film’s most memorable scene, where Nordland beholds his portrait for the first time. There are no talking heads to explain to us what’s going on. He does all voiceovers in the form of reading letters and emails. The narrative jumps around in time, but always in service to the plot. Ree has crafted The Painter and the Thief in a verité style. But it also thoroughly and effectively rehabilitates him. When Nordland goes upriver for doing something stupid, he lands in something akin to a minimum-security summer camp, which has as many amenities as a church retreat. Ree also has crafted, perhaps unwittingly, a portrait of the Norwegian penal system. Even in a country like Norway, with its mammoth safety net, Kysilkova struggles mightily to pay her bills. But it’s about a lot of other things as well. That plot point always lurks in the background, even when most of the scenes are two broken people talking about their problems in a hospital. We want to know what happened to the paintings. ![]() The true-crime mystery at the center keeps the film from overly bogging down. It never judges Nordland, even though he’s a terrifying shit when he’s on drugs. It also presents a realistic but ultimately hopeful picture of addiction and recovery. The Painter and The Thief is also, by virtue of its protagonist, one of the better depictions of the artistic process ever put to film. It’s about a loving but nonsexual male-female relationship, which is refreshing to see. Instead, he’s crafted a moving story of friendship between two very damaged but ultimately compassionate people. Director Benjamin Ree thought he was going to make a fun true-crime film about a wacky art heist. The Painter and the Thief is a remarkable documentary in many ways. ![]() THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF ★★★★ (4/5 stars) They become best friends and he inspires her to make a series of amazing paintings. When the police catch one of the thieves, Karl-Bertil Nordland, she approaches him in court and immediately falls in love with him, platonically. This painter, Barbora Kysilkova, is a remarkably empathetic and curious person. ![]() In this lovely documentary, now streaming on Hulu, a female Czech painter living in Norway suffers a terrible career blow when a couple of junkies steal her two masterpieces from a gallery opening. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |