I got in early and starting filming the fourth time they met. It always takes a bit of time to get access so I began filming Barbora first.
I made contact with Barbora Kysilkova after she met Karl Bertil-Nordland during the trial. The story was on the front of all newspapers in Norway. Yet, they’re drawn to remain close, I suspect in part because, even though they’ve coped with it differently, they recognize kindred spirits in the fellowship of trauma sufferers.You jump directly into the story after the paintings have been stolen? How did you get involved so quickly? Neither is a perfect friend, with each disappearing from the other’s life when they could’ve used the extra support. Ree’s film covers about two years in his protagonists’ lives, during which both cope with significant hardship: conflict with their romantic partners, poverty, and addiction, just for starters. But more importantly, it exemplifies the transformational power of kindness. The Painter and the Thief is a mystery whodunit in a minor key, as Barbora understandably seeks to locate her missing artworks. Bertil, captured on canvas, in “The Painter and the Thief” These stylistic and narrative choices deepen our empathy, as much as they show Barbora and Bertil’s compassionate friendship. In voiceover, each recounts items they’ve learned about the other, from the relatively minor (favorite jellybean flavor) to major (past domestic violence). The body of the film then alternates between Barbora and Bertil’s perspectives, sometimes looping back to recount the same event from the other’s point of view. After opening with a time-lapse montage of Barbora creating one of her stolen works, followed by surveillance footage of the theft, the pair’s first meeting is portrayed by an audiotape recording of their conversation overlaid with sketches by Barbora. Just as important as his choice of curiosity-spurring subjects, Norwegian documentarian Benjamin Ree has structured The Painter and the Thief masterfully. A wry sense of humor enhances his likeability he’s given to wearing t-shirts with messages like “fat people are hard to kidnap.” In spite of this history, Bertil comes across as vulnerable and wounded rather than sociopathic. (He has no recollection of where Barbora’s two paintings ended up, having stolen them at the end of a four-day amphetamine binge.) His criminal behavior seems driven in equal parts by pathetic cries for attention and by his drug-addled states. Painting is a compulsion, her oil compositions eye-catching for their realistic portraiture posited in dark settings.īertil has dwelled behind bars for a quarter of his life, freely admitting to gang involvement and battles with addiction. Barbora is a rare pure soul, childlike in her curiosity and generosity, despite subsisting on the brink of insolvency. For one thing, Barbora and Bertil are fascinating people I was keen to spend time with. It’s easy to see why this film was a winner at this year’s Sundance, just before COVID-19 shut down the festival circuit. Barbora and Bertil, in “The Painter and the Thief” Bertil becomes the subject of several of Barbora’s paintings. Barbora confides in Bertil, sharing her traumatic life story with him. With no fear in her voice, she laughingly asks why he stole her paintings, to which he simply replies, “Because they were beautiful.”įrom this improbable start, a friendship blooms.
The painter and the thief trial#
When Barbora Kysilkova had her two lead paintings stolen from an Oslo gallery exhibit, her reaction was to forgive.Īttending the trial of one of the two thieves, Karl-Bertil Nordland, Barbora impulsively approaches him before the proceedings commence. With all of the darkness and hate on our screens lately, I encourage you to take a break and check out this documentary portrait of goodness.
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