Barbora Kysilkova and Karl-Bertil Nordland in the Sundance Award winning film “The Painter and the Thief”.
Directed by: Benjamin Ree
Featuring: Barbora Kysilkova, Karl-Bertil Nordland
If you were to look at "The Painter and the Thief" based only on its title, you might immediately think of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" or "American Animals."
"The Painter and the Thief," is a documentary hybrid between "Dragon Tattoo" and "American Animals." It uses the mystery theft of two paintings from an Oslo art gallery to bring two people together in ways that neither of them could imagine.
The documentary, which won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling at the 2020 Sundance, uses the intrigue of the theft to tell the story of the artist, Barbora. Police can identify the two thieves. Through the course of their trial, police are unable to determine what happened to the paintings nor why or even how the thieves were able to get away with the deed.
Coming from a difficult background, Barbora has one of the most unique perspectives of the human condition that I have seen, something that Ree captures exquisitely. Barbora believes that she can survive on her art alone, something her boyfriend supports. Even as she struggles though, something that Ree also makes a point to expound on, Barbora is an exceptionally altruistic person, giving the clothes off her back to someone.
This is where Karl comes in.
Since the police cannot explain the motive behind the theft and cannot retrieve the art, Barbora takes an interest in Karl, asking to meet with him, and eventually paint him. When we first meet Karl, he is very much down on his luck, having turned to drugs. But we also see a glimpse of intelligence behind his eyes; a powerful force exists within the glazed-over eyes.
Ree tells their mutual stories from two different vantage points and, in doing so, reveals a unique bond that forms between the two of them. The uniqueness of the story compels you to understand that it is indeed a documentary, while at the same time, it feels like a narrative drama having been written for the screen. This combination demonstrates why the film won the Sundance jury prize.
In telling the story, we learn of both Barbora's and Karl's innermost secrets, a personalization in them that would potentially be lost if they were distilled on to a script and then interpreted by an actor. Just as with Barbora's art, the canvas comes alive.
"The Painter and the Thief" reminds us of our uniqueness and the connections that drive us toward one another.
4 out of 4 stars
