by Mark Demetrius
Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Alex Lutz, Lea Drucker, Louise Chevillotte, Nora Hamzawi
Intro:
… engaging, fascinating (when it delves into a bit of history and backstory), uniformly well acted and sometimes amusing.
There have been plenty of films about the world of high-end art dealing and collecting — usually focusing on the obscenely high prices some paintings can fetch, and the concomitant level of Machiavellian chicanery. This one is no exception in that sense, but what makes it notably enjoyable is that it’s a rattling good yarn which also manages to be a rather warm human story. Plus, the fact that it’s based on — or at least inspired by — true events.
The central character is Andre Masson (Alex Lutz), a relatively conscionable art appraiser and auctioneer — though not without a tendency to be insufferably condescending. There’s an interesting level of tension between Masson and his intern Aurora (Louise Chevillotte), but it’s colleague and ex-wife Bertina (Lea Drucker) who accompanies him to Alsace to determine the provenance of a painting which may be by the great Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele.
The putative masterpiece has been found in a young factory worker’s home, having supposedly been looted by the Nazis during the war and given to a local collaborator. The only false note in this generally realistic tale is that the two experts take what seems like a matter of seconds to decide whether it’s the real thing. At which point the plot thickens, the number of characters increases and perspectives and principles come into conflict.
The Stolen Painting is engaging, fascinating (when it delves into a bit of history and backstory), uniformly well acted and sometimes amusing. The mostly Parisian setting doesn’t hurt either.
Recommended.
