The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (1978)

Two narrators, one seen and one unseen, discuss possible connections between a series of paintings. The on-screen narrator walks through three-dimensional reproductions of each painting, ... See full summary »

Director:

Raoul Ruiz

Writers:

Raoul Ruiz, Pierre Klossowski (participation)

Stars:

Jean Rougeul, Chantal Paley, Jean Raynaud

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Rougeul	...	The collector
Chantal Paley	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Jean Raynaud	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Daniel Grimm	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Isidro Romero	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Bernard Daillencourt	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Jean-Damien Thiollier	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Alix Comte	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Christian Broutin	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Guy Bonnafoux	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Tony Rödel	...	Personnage des Tableaux (as Tony Rodel)
Pascal Lambertini	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Jean Narboni	...	Personnage des Tableaux
Vincent Skimenti	...	Personnage des Tableaux (as Vincent Schimenti)
Anne Desbois	...	Personnage des Tableaux

Storyline

Two narrators, one seen and one unseen, discuss possible connections between a series of paintings. The on-screen narrator walks through three-dimensional reproductions of each painting, featuring real people, sometimes moving, in an effort to explain the series' significance.

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Plot Keywords:

tableau vivant | scene based on painting | stolen painting | search for meaning | artwork | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first credited film role of Jean Reno.

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Connections

Featured in Exiles: Raoul Ruiz: Chilean Film Director (1988)

User Reviews

overrated

Having read during many years about how great this film was, how it established Ruiz among the french critics (specially the snobbish Cahiers crowd), when I finally watched it about a year ago, I found it pretty disappointing (but then, I guess my expectations were sky-high). Shot in saturated black and white, this deliberately cerebral film (made for TV, and mercifully, only an hour long) is told in the form of a conversation between an art connoisseur and an off-screen narrator as they ponder through a series of paintings (which are shown in the style of tableaux vivants) and try to find if they hold some clues about a hidden political crime. (The awful Kate Beckinsale film Uncovered has a similar argument). Borgesian is a word I read a lot in reviews about this movie, but I would say almost any Borges story is more interesting than this film.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 April 1979 (France)

Also Known As:

A Hipótese do Quadro Roubado

Company Credits

Production Co:

Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White