The Painter and the Thief

Name: The Painter and the Thief
Genre: Documentary
Released: May 22, 2020
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 79
Cast: Barbora Kysilkova

2020

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Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 17 Ratings

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8.1	User Score Universal acclaim based on 17 Ratings

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The Painter And The Thief

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Movie Details & Credits

Neon | Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2020 | Not Rated

Starring: Barbora Kysilkova

Summary: Desperate for answers about the theft of her 2 paintings, a Czech artist seeks out and befriends the career criminal who stole them. After inviting her thief to sit for a portrait, the two form an improbable relationship and an inextricable bond that will forever link these lonely souls.

Director: Benjamin Ree

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Ty Burr

May 21, 2020

So compelling is The Painter and the Thief — and ultimately so powerfully moving in its faith in human resilience — that you may not notice the illuminating ways in which Ree plays with form and viewpoint. The documentary won a special jury award for creative storytelling at the most recent Sundance Film Festival and it comes to streaming video as one of the year’s most affecting and subtly radical movie experiences. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Jan 25, 2020

To get the desired emotional reaction, The Painter and the Thief proves able to deceive in ways that are best discovered for yourself. It works: In a genius final stroke, Ree pulls back to reveal the entire canvas, putting key aspects of this unconventional portrait into startling new perspective. Read full review

Liam Lacey

May 21, 2020

Some scenes in The Painter and the Thief feel stagey, including a couple of delayed dramatic reveals. And the characters certainly seem aware of the camera’s presence. Seen in its best light though, The Painter and the Thief is a kind of Rorschach test: Do you see a tale of improbable friendship and compassion, or a story of trespassed boundaries and compulsion? Or, is this one of those “bistable” optical illusions, like the vase and the face, where different things are true, moment to moment? Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

May 21, 2020

The oddity of the crime lay in the value of the art — relatively low, except to the artist, a young Czech woman who was neither famous nor rich. The beauty of the film lies in the bond she forges with one of the thieves after they’re found by police and sentenced to 75 days in prison. Questions of identity haunt both the victim and the perp — not their names or addresses, but who they are in the farthest reaches of their psyches, and who they may become. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

May 22, 2020

The concept of being seen through someone else’s eyes drives the best parts of The Painter and the Thief, a documentary that illuminates a great deal about the human condition even if it does kind of fizzle out in the third act. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

May 20, 2020

What we’re left with is a fascinating glimpse of the myopic mania for “inspiration” of the artist, and a look at a culture where compassion and restitution (apparently) carry more weight than “punishment’ for the thief. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Jan 25, 2020

Intimate and involving as it can be, The Painter and the Thief increasingly leaves the impression that Kysilkova and Nordland are holding something back. Read full review

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User Reviews

bertobellamy

Jul 21, 2021

A unique and improbable documentary and a very profound character study about two contrasting individuals. The relationship that Benjamin Ree captures — with many twists and turns — shows a peculiar but very human bond. Some scenes may feel staged, but I think this is essential to fullyA unique and improbable documentary and a very profound character study about two contrasting individuals. The relationship that Benjamin Ree captures — with many twists and turns — shows a peculiar but very human bond. Some scenes may feel staged, but I think this is essential to fully appreciate this film as an art piece.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LisaLR1

Oct 25, 2020

This weekend, thanks to IDA (International Documentary Association), I was given the opportunity to watch Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree's documentary, "The Painter and the Thief." The film follows the 3 year journey of Czech artist living in Norway, Barbora Kysilkova, and her attempt toThis weekend, thanks to IDA (International Documentary Association), I was given the opportunity to watch Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree's documentary, "The Painter and the Thief." The film follows the 3 year journey of Czech artist living in Norway, Barbora Kysilkova, and her attempt to locate several of her paintings stolen from an art gallery. Barbora connects at the trial with caught ringleader, Karl-Bertil Nordland, a career criminal fighting a heroin addiction and a (possibly)feigned memory loss of the theft, and offers to paint his self-portrait, in hopes this may help her find out the whereabouts of the stolen paintings. What follows this initial meeting between the two is an unexpected friendship and empathetic bond over the next 3 years. Without giving anything away, the documentary's ending is rather extraordinary.… Expand

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Brent_Marchant

May 29, 2020

An intriguing story -- or, rather, an intriguing collection of stories -- that are all linked to one another but don't gel in a fully cohesive and coherent way. This documentary about an emerging artist whose two most prized paintings are impulsively stolen from an Oslo gallery by anAn intriguing story -- or, rather, an intriguing collection of stories -- that are all linked to one another but don't gel in a fully cohesive and coherent way. This documentary about an emerging artist whose two most prized paintings are impulsively stolen from an Oslo gallery by an intelligent but strung-out junkie explores the unlikely friendship that develops between them when she subsequently asks to do a portrait of him. What appears to start out as an act of forgiveness and compassion grows into a complex, almost co-dependent relationship in which the parties attempt to explore their unusual involvement with one another, as well as aspects of themselves that have never been addressed before. But, ultimately, viewers are left to ask, "All to what end?" It's as if audiences are being asked to take the documentation of their intimate interaction on faith, that there's something innately profound to it that's never fully explained but is nevertheless not to be doubted. In taking that approach, director Benjamin Ree asks much from his viewers without delivering the same in return, a problem compounded by a somewhat confounding narrative time line and the inclusion of too much incidental material that could have easily been snipped. I genuinely expect more out of the films of producer Morgan Neville ("20 Feet from Stardom," "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble," "Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal," "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"), an aspect clearly missing here. This is by no means an awful film -- just one that isn't as good as it could have been.… Expand

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