Movie Review: The Painter and the Thief

The Painter and the Thief *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Benjamin Ree

 

What an odd, beguiling documentary The Painter and the Thief turns out to be. I don’t necessarily think it’s entirely successful – and the structure of the film serves to make the film more contrived than it needed to be – but it’s ultimately a documentary about the subject that most documentaries avoid – the power imbalance between the artist and their subject. And the film adds in another layer to this as well – as it is about a painter and a thief, and their power imbalance, but then complicates that imbalance as it moves along – eventually even questioning the relationship to the movie itself, with both of its subjects. It’s the type of thing that will be studied by documentary students for years, even if the film doesn’t quite live up to its lofty ambitions.

 

The film begins with a robbery – two junkies break into a Norwegian art gallery, and steal two paintings by Barbora Kysilkova, a Czech painter, living with her Norwegian boyfriend. That she is talented is clear – but she hasn’t exactly become a star of the art world – and even if her paintings were valued only at 20,000 Euros total, you wonder if she could sell them even for that. Still, the paintings are good – and immensely personal for Kysilkova. The thieves are quickly apprehended, but the paintings are gone – one of the thieves won’t say anything about the whereabouts of the painting her ended up with, the other says he doesn’t know. It’s the latter of these two that is the thief of the title – Karil-Bertil Nordland. Kysilkova boldly approaches him at his trial, not angry, but inquiring if she could paint him. The first act of the film culminates with Kysilkova showing Nordland her portrait of him – and him breaking down in tears. It’s the type of reaction that you know Benjamin Ree wanted – to have Nordland feel seen for the first time, and get that reaction on camera. Had the film ended there, it may have been a fascinating little short.

 

But Ree continues, and continues to complicate matters. If the first act is locked into Kysilkova’s perspective, the second makes the choice to lock in on Nordland’s. Like it said in the extraordinary Portrait of a Lady on Fire, yes, the artist sees their subject – their model. But while they are posing for you, they are also observing you. Nordland may well feel seen by Kysilkova – but he also sees her. The movie becomes about their complicated, co-dependent relationship that develops between the pair of them. The different roles the play, the personas they adopt, etc. The movie doesn’t want to fall into the trap that one can argue the painting does – which is to reduce people to easily digestible stereotypes, to make it easier for the audience.

 

It is a lofty goal, and an admirable one, and had Ree been able to really pull it off, then The Painter and the Thief may well have been a masterwork. But I have a feeling Ree knows he didn’t quite pull it off, which is why he fiddles unnecessarily with the structure of the film – he’ll often show us an event, than circle back to show us what lead to it – and then continue the thread from there. So for Nordland, there is a horrific car accident, that leaves him in need of physical therapy – and a stint in Norwegian jail (which looks like a nice summer camp). For Kysilkova, the film delves into some issues she has with her boyfriend – who isn’t sure he likes this relationship for her, and her own economic circumstances (a lot of time is spent on rent – which ultimately ends up going nowhere).

 

The film is able to bring it altogether for one last, devastating shot -the type of shot that you will remember long after you’ve forgotten the details of the movie. Ree has a gift there – his film really does feel like it could be a work of fiction – a style that recalls perhaps the Dardenne brothers. The film looks great. And the high moments of the film are exceptional. I just cannot shake the feeling that perhaps Ree is playing with things a little too much – playing with the audience too much – to make a completely satisfying movie. There is so much here to admire – I just wish the entire package came together better.