The Painter and the Thief

The Painter and the Thief is a 2020 Norwegian documentary film directed by Benjamin Ree. It follows the artist Barbora Kysilkova as she forms a friendship with Karl Bertil-Nordland, a man who stole her artwork.

The Painter and the Thief
Official poster
Directed byBenjamin Ree
Produced byIngvil Giske
Starring
  • Barbora Kysilkova
  • Karl Bertil-Nordland
Music byUno Helmersson
Cinematography
  • Kristoffer Kumar
  • Benjamin Ree
Edited byRobert Stengård
Production
companies
Distributed byNeon
Release date
  • January 23, 2020 (2020-01-23) (Sundance)
  • May 22, 2020 (2020-05-22) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Norway
Language
  • English
  • Norwegian

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling. It was released in the United States on May 22, 2020, by Neon.

Plot

The film follows Barbora Kysilkova, an artist, forming a friendship with Karl Bertil-Nordland, a man who stole her artwork.

Cast
  • Barbara Kysilkova
  • Karl Bertil-Nordland
  • Øystein Stene

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020.[1][2] Shortly after, Neon acquired distribution rights to the film.[3] It was released in the United States on May 22, 2020.[4]

Critical reception

The Painter and the Thief received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 97% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 101 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Painter and the Thief uses the unlikely bond between a criminal and his victim as the canvas for a compelling portrait of compassion and forgiveness."[5] Adrian Horton wrote in The Guardian that the film is a "remarkable documentary" which "plays more like a twisting narrative film than real-life portrait."[6] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 79 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

The film won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling in the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.[8]

Best of lists

The Painter and the Thief was ranked as the best documentary film of 2020 by the BBC,[9] The Washington Post,[10] and The Boston Globe.[11]

References
  1. "The Painter and the Thief". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  2. Siegel, Tatiana (December 4, 2019). "Sundance Unveils Female-Powered Lineup Featuring Taylor Swift, Gloria Steinem, Abortion Road Trip Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  3. Szlai, Georg (February 24, 2020). "Neon Takes Worldwide Rights on 'The Painter and the Thief'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  4. Sneider, Jeff (April 29, 2020). "'The Painter and the Thief' Trailer Promises an Art Heist With an Emotional Twist". Collider. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  5. "The Painter and the Thief". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  6. Horton, Adrian (2020-05-20). "The Painter and the Thief: behind the year's most moving documentary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  7. "The Painter and the Thief". Metacritic. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  8. "2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED". Sundance Film Festival. February 1, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  9. Nicholas Barber; Caryn James (18 December 2020). "The best films of 2020". BBC. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  10. Hornaday, Ann. "Perspective | Best movies of 2020: Diverse thrills, chills, Dickensian laughs and a pandemic-friendly trip to Greece". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  11. Ty Burr (December 18, 2020). "Here are 10 excellent movies (and 25 runners-up) from a not-so-excellent year". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
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