Camera and a brush a subjective review of films about painters.

"Ah ... be a painter" sigh those who can't make a straight line, "Ah ... have a good job" sigh those who have a diploma in the drawer from the Academy. Painters are amazing creatures, almost as extraterrestrial as poets. They see things in the world that are not there, or on the contrary those that are able to show us that we are moved by a train, a dried lemon, a woman sweeping in the hallway. Since we can't all be painters, at least we like to talk about them. And cinema loves telling a story about painters.

Before proceeding to the calculation of movies, I would like to make one statement. This is a very subjective choice and more importantly prepared rather not to choose the best films only to bend over a certain phenomenon of the film about the painter. I hope that it will work because I would like to show something, I can prove something. At the same time, I do not intend to show you productions in which fictional painters are mentioned, because this is a slightly different category of film. At the same time, I reserve that if you want a full list, there is nothing simpler just enter the appropriate phrase on the Internet and you will get beautiful sets of dozens of films devoted to painters.

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a film from which such a list must be started because - interestingly - it is one of the first that comes to mind when talking about productions about painters. In short, the film is about the life of Christy Brown, an Irish painter and writer who was born with cerebral palsy - only his left foot was fully functional. The film is actually more about the story of a man who, although born in adverse conditions (the working class in the 1930s was not a good place for a person with cerebral palsy) has achieved more in life than anyone would have expected. This is not a luscious story or one where the problem disappears just because talent appears. Above all, however, My Left Foot is a phenomenal role of Daniel Day-Lewis - who for many years set the standard for playing people with disabilities. It is not only about his famous involvement in the role (on the set he did not leave the cart and everyone had to carry him) but also about creating a character that functions not only within his limits - he is a hero who is played from beginning to end and not only serves as showing how hard it is for people with cerebral palsy or how extraordinary the life of his hero was. A must-see film - mainly because it may be one of the highest rated productions in the history of cinema.

Girl With a Pearl Earring - I must first emphasize that Vermeer is one of my beloved painters, mainly because there are no wars, kings or biblical scenes in his work. For this is the life and everyday life of people living in Delphi during the painter's time. I love this kind of painting where everyday life has survived, flashes of life in which we recognize certain unchanging features of human existence. The Girl with the Pearl Earring is not necessarily a film about Vermeer but above all, an artistic sensitivity that can be manifested in anyone. Briefly again - in the home of the not very happy Vermeer, who is tired in everyday life with his wife, debts and not very accommodating mother-in-law, a new maid appears. Teen Griet turns out to be endowed with tremendous sensitivity that brings her closer to the painter. It is more an agreement of souls than romance, but it will bear fruit - in this fictional story, one of the painter's most famous paintings by the famous "Girl with a Pearl Earring". I like this movie because it shows that painting is not only a technique but also a certain sensitivity to looking at the world - its colors, shades, light. It could come out very melodramatically but eventually we got a beautiful story about what can bring together even very different people.

Desperate Romantics - Pre-Raphaelites painted beautifully and had a weakness for red-haired women. And besides, they were young people, interesting and very different. The BBC series looks into their lives and into complicated relationships with other red-haired beauties, with patrons, gallery owners and everyone in general. The series is interesting because instead of looking into the life of one painter he looks into the life of the entire artistic group. And this allows us not only to look at this one brilliant creator but also - how friendship, jealousy or the need for competition affects the creative process. Of course, as usual in such cases - we devote a little more time to tracking private life than professional life, but in the case of our desperate romantics both seem inseparable. In addition, the series is extremely funny in some places - and not necessarily where you would expect. I watched the production because of Aidan Turner who played Dante Rosseti here but the whole cast is excellent. It is a pity that it was never continued because the series does not show us the whole life of this artistic group.

Life in Squares - a BBC mini series about the life (mainly private) of the famous Bloomsbury group, an artistic bohemia with which Virginia Woolf was associated. But the series is not about the famous writer, but about her sister, painter, Vanessa Bell. The series has three episodes and shows us how Bell and her sister gained independence, allowing creative activities and how their private life went. It is above all an interesting portrait of a group of artists who are very afraid to end up like their parents and at the same time - try to reconcile bohemian artistic life with a successful private life. Here is some drama, some emotional blackmail, some misery for the artist's life. On the other hand, a somewhat different female perspective is interesting, where in all this artistic confusion a husband appears or motherhood changing the perspective on life and creativity. There is not a lot of painting in this series but it is worth looking at - especially since the creators deliberately did not try to once again tell the sad fate of Virginia Woolf.

Mr. Turner - in my opinion one of the best painting films that exist. The film not only shows us the artist - not perfect, sometimes comically inconsistent with his works, but human, hungry for life, interesting, still searching, loving what he does. Everyone praises the film for the outstanding role of Thimote Spall but it must be admitted that the very concept of the film is of great importance here. There is no searching for drama or madness - on the contrary, the film focuses much more on the physical act of painting than other productions, allowing us to watch the painter at work. The production tells the story of Turner's last twenty-five years - those in which he painted his most unusual paintings. Some say that it is the result of a visual defect, others see in his later works a manifestation of incredible artistic originality or almost genius. No matter how we look at it, the film perfectly shows us the man, his era and his passion and curiosity about life. This is a very "human" film, which rather follows the painter with curiosity, sometimes laughing at him, sometimes criticizing sometimes looking with a slight disgust, and does not put on a pedestal to admire. Which, of course, makes Turner seem to us an even more interesting character and even more worth knowing.

Vincent & Theo - when we talk about the film performance of Van Gogh's life, everyone primarily associates the film Lust for Life with the role of Kirk Douglas or the animated Loving Vincent. In the meantime, I recommend you look at the film by Robert Altman - Vincent and Theo, which tells not only about the life of Vincent van Gogh but also about the life of his brother Theo van Gogh. Both unhappy in their own way, subjected in total to similar demons - although one of them enjoys greater success in life, the other will be remembered by posterity (the film also opens the archival recording of the Van Gogh auction of paintings where they are sold for huge amounts). Thanks to the double portrait, the film that could be another classic biographical product takes a slightly different path. At the same time, it is a production praised many times for showing Provence in which Van Gogh painted his most famous works. As critics noticed, the camera shows beautiful surroundings so that from a wonderful landscape it sometimes becomes an unpleasant, even alienating space. According to Altman, this is how Van Gogh saw his surroundings. This is not the greatest movie but I have a weakness for Tim Roth playing Van Gogh.

Little Ashes - again, I suggest looking at the film, maybe not outstanding but interesting. Little Ashes tell about the young Salvador Dali, who falls in love with the poet Frederico Lorce and befriends with Louis Bonuel. The film, despite the fact that it talks about the key figures for Spanish culture and art is primarily a story about young people, their feelings and ideals (for which there was a place in Spain in the 1920s and 1930s). Even if the characters were called differently, we would still get a surprisingly calm, almost poetic film that slowly shows the growing feeling between the characters, for which they may not be ready at all. This is a movie about growing up but also about the fear of who you may be. It is interesting to observe the character of Salvador Dali, shown here as a shy boy, outsider, who, however, from the beginning is convinced that great things await him. Robert Pattinson plays it very efficiently, especially in recent scenes where we already see this adult Dali, with his characteristic mustache and popularity gained over the years. An interesting film - maybe not necessarily about the painting itself, but it's worth taking a look at it.

Nightwatching - I must honestly admit that I am not a big fan of this film but I think it is worth seeing for one reason - this is a film about a painter shot by a painter - because it is difficult to see Peter Greenaway and his work differently. The vividness of the image, combined with Greenaway's always present in the dark side of human nature and sexuality naturalistically depicted, make the Nightwatching a specific film, but also extremely interesting. Plus, although Martin Freeman doesn't seem like the obvious choice for the role of Rembrandt, he plays perfectly as usual. However, the weakest here is the story of one of Rembrandt's most famous paintings, referring to conspiracy theories. Still, it's worth your time, even only for the pictures themselves.

This is the end of the first part, I think. I realized that I would either describe all the productions very briefly or it would be an extremely long post. Nevertheless, you can already see that most films about painters tend to - like most films about talented people - to tell not necessarily about painting or the painting process itself but about the lives of talented people - mainly private, often looking for threads or phenomena that would explain why they painted so well while others, even if they could use a brush, were not remembered. At the same time, painters are a great example here because it seems that indeed many of them had an interesting life, far from a quiet mode of work. And if they had, we probably didn't make movies about them.

Ps: I promise a second part on the days though not necessarily tomorrow. Because today I'm going to the cinema at the Joker so tomorrow there will be a review.

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