3/16/2023 0 Comments The painter and the thief![]() ![]() It's to no one's surprise that Ree lets his movie linger here, and lets his viewers soak in the full breadth and depth of Nordland's reckoning with who he is, how he has long felt about himself, what it means to him to be immortalised in an object of beauty and how it feels to be truly be seen by someone else. To see the latter's response to Kysilkova's first painting of him - physically cycling through shock, amazement, wonder and gratitude, and starting with his eyes wide in bewilderment before being overwhelmed with emotion to the point of sobbing - is to witness the most intimate and complicated of reactions. Demonstrating an abundance of empathy that's as haunting as Kysilkova's striking pieces, Ree also gravitates to moments as equally sincere and direct as Nordland's initial admission. Absent the usual tropes and stylistic markers that true-crime documentaries are known for, the film eschews the standard mix of talking heads, re-enactments and explanatory narration in favour of truly observing and stepping inside its subjects' unique bond. The same tone remains throughout The Painter and the Thief's entire duration. If Nordland's reply to Kysilkova feels disarmingly frank and unguarded, that's because it is. As Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree ( Magnus) pointed a camera in their direction for three years, the duo weathered their own ups, downs, twists and turns, as did their friendship. As all relationships do, especially ones forged under such unusual circumstances, their connection evolved, adapted and changed from there. Kysilkova first asked to paint Nordland as part of her attempts to understand him, and he then became her muse. From there, the skilled carpenter and heavily tattooed addict unexpectedly gained a friend in the woman whose works he took. Nordland was arrested and charged for his crime, with Kysilkova initially making contact with him at his trial. ![]() But such a brief description can't convey how fascinating, thoughtful, moving and astonishing this documentary is as it unfurls a tale so layered and wild that it can only be true - a story that stretches far beyond what anyone could feasibly anticipate of such an altercation and its aftermath, in fact. ![]() As a result, he doesn't seem surprised that his life led him to that juncture, and to snatching Kysilkova's creations.Ī victim confronts a perpetrator: that's The Painter and the Thief's five-word summary, and it's 100-percent accurate. And, he's candid about the fact that he marvelled at and was moved by the two canvases long before he absconded with them. He's aware that he saw her photorealistic pieces - the first of a dead swan lying in reeds, the second of two girls sat side by side on a couch - many times, too. That said, as the thief tells the painter when she first talks with him, he does know that he walked past Gallery Nobel often. Thanks to the effect of illicit substances, Nordland can't even remember much about it, let alone recall what happened to the stolen works that Kysilkova desperately wants back. But Nordland and his accomplice didn't plan their brazen heist, or have a background in purloining art. As the two pieces were removed from their frames in such an exacting manner, it was presumed that experts were behind the crime. Captured on camera, the pilfering of Kysilkova's Swan Song and Chloe & Emma initially appeared to be a professional job. He isn't responding to the police or providing an excuse during his court appearance, but speaking to Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova, who wanted answers about the theft of her work. ![]() Asked why he broke into Oslo's Gallery Nobel in 2015 and stole two large oil paintings in broad daylight, Karl-Bertil Nordland gives perhaps the most honest answer anyone could: "because they were beautiful". ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |