3 May 2024.
By Neptune
LE TABLEAU VOLÉ *** (vo French)
Is it Sotheby’s or Scotties? Strange choice of a replacement name in this film about a heavyweight auction house whose real name couldn’t be used in this story based on a true event.
But French director Pascal Bonitzer manages to show us two worlds in this thrilling tale of a lost, and now found, masterwork by the important, turn-of-the-century Austrian painter Egon Schiele.
He presents us the elegant, high-powered, but often back-stabbing world of art markets where the excessive prices depend on the rarity of the object and the desire of the potential customers.
But there is also the decent, working-class family who has found this unknown painting of sunflowers. As auction houses have antennas out for top art objects to put on their rosters, one of their head auctioneers (an excellent Alex Lutz) hears about the mysterious painting through a lawyer friend. The exciting chase is on – to view it, to verify its authenticity and to secure it for his own firm.
It is a cat-and-mouse game between the clueless finder, the auction house, a previous owner – as it is probably war loot from WWII, last seen in 1939 – and the Jewish American family who were the original owners. And then there is the matter of deciding on the price and its partition among the various contenders.
Of course there are the numerous characters – the auctioneer, his ruthless boss, his pretty young assistant whom he is training, his ex-wife (a clever Léa Drucker) who is a loyal ally, and the entangled families. All will be affected by the workings surrounding this historic and highly valuable find, figuring in the multi-millions.
You’ll be spellbound by all the tension, especially at the actual moment of auction when one can feel everyone’s heart pounding as paddles are raised and anonymous calls are interjected in the soaring bids. This is a good, satisfying story.
THE FALL GUY *1/2
This one is about a stuntman (Ryan Gosling) whose job is to risk his life daily in doubling the tough action scenes for an arrogant star, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. After a terrible accident which puts him out of commission for quite some time, the stuntman is called back to work on a film being directed by the woman he once loved, portrayed by Emily Blunt. But the star has disappeared, and drugs and killings are involved.
This film can’t decide whether it’s a fun, romantic comedy or a beat-them-to-a-pulp extravaganza with hidden agendas. Pity, for it wastes the talents of Gosling and Blunt with its endless, tiresome violence. But then it’s directed by David Leitch, who was a stuntman himself and has such brutal films in his directorial repertoire as “Atomic Blonde”, “Deadpool 2” and “Bullet Train”.
So what else would one expect? This is great fodder for the testosterone crowd, but then also for the numerous female Gosling fans. It will be a box office hit and may entice some young people to emulate these “heroes”. The struggle against violence in entertainment is hopeless, for violence sells.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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