The Painter and the Thief
What does Barbora Kysilkova, struggling painter, see in KarlBertil Nordland, a junkie who stole one of her paintings?
Figuring out that psychological puzzle is one of the many fascinations of “The Painter and the Thief,” a gorgeouslooking, extremely compelling and perhaps shamelessly manipulative Norwegian documentary that drops on Hulu and major videoondemand platforms on Friday, May 22.
Kysilkova is a littleknown Czechborn artist working in Oslo. She gets two paintings in a gallery show, but they are stolen and the theft makes the TV news. Two suspects are identified through security footage, and they are apprehended. The paintings are not recovered.
In giving her testimony to the police, Kysilkova meets one of the thieves. She decides she wants to paint him.
Is this a ruse to get him to tell her where the paintings are? (Having been high on drugs during the robbery, he doesn’t remember. Likely they are on the black market.) Is it a way to “replace” the lost paintings by turning the thief into the subject of works of art, thus reclaiming some semblance of artistic control?
Or does she see something worthy in this damaged person, and does she see a little of herself in him?
Their conversations are frank. Clearly, Nordland has intelligence (he is, among other things, a skilled carpenter). Part of his problems stem from his rough childhood, in which he was abandoned by his mother, separated from his siblings and left alone by a father working long hours.
When Kysilkova unveils her first painting of Nordland — a truly lovely work — he is reduced to tears.
“Nobody has seen me vulnerable like you,” he says. It’s a heartbreaking moment.
Later we find that Kysilkova has issues of her own. She fled her last relationship to an extremely abusive boyfriend. Her current boyfriend is an amiable, loving chap, but is she drawn to the darker side in men like Nordland?
I hinted earlier that “The Painter and the Thief ” might be a little manipulative. It’s hard to know for sure, but some scenes appear recreated or invented to help along the narrative.
In the press notes supplied by U.S. distributor Neon, director Benjamin Ree states that he began filming during Kysilkova and Nordland’s fourth meeting. That would suggest that their “meeting” in the police station was a recreation (although some of it is muffled audio, perhaps recorded at the scene by Kysilkova, and therefore authentic).
But for the most part, “The Painter and the Thief ” seems authentic, a very real portrait of two unique individuals. It explores not only the artistic impulse, but also issues of relationships, addiction and rehab. It also provides an interesting glimpse into the Norwegian prison system, which is geared toward rehabilitation rather than punishment.
And Kysilkova isn’t the only talented visual artist in the film. Cinematographers Kristoffer Kumar and Ree do some eyepopping work as well, and on a relatively low budget in close quarters.
Between Kysilkova’s work and theirs, it’s hard to take your eyes off of this film.