In the world of high-end art auctions and antiques, Virgil Oldman is an elderly and esteemed but eccentric genius art-expert, known and appreciated by the world. Oldman is hired by a solitary young heiress, Claire Ibbetson, to auction off the large collection of art and antiques left to her by her parents. For some reason, Claire always refuses to be seen in person. Robert aids Oldman in restoring and reassembling some odd mechanical parts he finds amongst Claire's belongings, while also giving him advice on how to befriend her and deal with his feelings towards her. Also a friend of Oldman, Billy Whistler helps him to acquire a secret private collection of master paintings.Written by
Nebzyl
Several works of art are shown during the movie. The painting that gets restored is "Portrait of a Young Girl" (ca. 1470) by Petrus Christus. Among the works studied by Oldman there is also "Birth of Venus" (1879) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Among the female portraits in his collection, one can spot: "Portrait of a Young Woman (La Fornarina)" (ca. 1519) and "Portrait of a Young Woman (La Muta)" (1507) by Raphael, "Violante" (ca. 1515), "La Bella" (1536) and "Portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga Della Rovere" (ca. 1538) by Titian, "Portrait of Eleaonor of Toledo and Her Son" (1545) and "Portrait of Lucrezia Panciatichi" (1541) by Bronzino, "Portrait of Caterina Sforza" (ca. 1490) by Lorenzo di Credi, "Zingarella" (1505) by Boccaccio Boccaccino, "Portarit of Lucretia Borgia" (ca. 1510) by Bartolomeo Veneziano, "Portrait of Lucina Brembati" (1518) by Lorenzo Lotto, "Lady with a Book of Petrarch's Rhyme" (ca. 1528) by Andrea del Sarto, "Portrait of Bianca Cappello" (ca. 1572) by Alessandro Allori, "Portrait of Elspeth Tucher" (1499) by Albrecht Dürer, "Salomè" (1510) by Lucas Cranach the Elder, "Portrait of Minerva Anguissola" (ca. 1570) by Sofonisba Anguissola, "Self-Portrait" (1580) by Marietta Robusti, "Girl with a Burning Candle" (ca. 1706) by Gottfried Schalken, "Portrait of Beatrice Cenci" (1599) and "Portrait of the Mother" (ca. 1620) by Guido Reni, "Self-Portrait" and "Portrait of Old Dame" by Rosalba Carriera, "Self-Portrait with Harp" (1750) by Rose-Adelaide Ducreux, "Portrait of Delphine Ingres-Ramel" (1859) and "Portrait of Madame Aymon" (1806) by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, "Joli Coeur" (1867) and "Woman in the Window" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and "Jeanne Samary in a Low-Necked Dress (La Rêverie)" (1877) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. There are also works of Pieter Paul Rubens, Francisco Goya, Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, Amedeo Modigliani and Morgan Weistling. See more »
Goofs
At the restaurant which is supposed to be extremely high-end, a waiter puts down stacked plates with what can only be described as horrendous racket. He balanced the plates at an angle and almost dropped the whole structure. Not something that would or could happen in this kind of establishment. To avoid such a mishap a plate is slid onto the table from the edge so that it remains level at all times. Any noise made by plates or silverware is inadmissible in places like that. Even champagne should be opened quietly. See more »
Quotes
Virgil Oldman:
What's it like living with a woman?
Lambert:
Like taking part in an auction sale. You never know if yours will be the best offer.
See more »
This is, by far, my most favorite movie of this year! I've always been a Geoffrey Rush fan, but in this movie, I've seen a very special Rush who, by the way his on screen persona goes thru a life changing metamorphosis, creates a real, day-to-day living among us man with real life personal fears, heartbreaking disillusions and self rediscovering. He makes us care for the very rigid and robotic Virgil Oldman in a way that surprises the senses. He is, in the beginning, a character who most people would find repelling by his uncomfortable attitude and bossy ways. But, as the movie proceeds, he is changed by this peculiar and frightful young woman who has a way of bringing him up, and crushing him down within minutes in their dialog. I must say that director Tornatore wrote this amazingly beautiful story with a golden pencil, I'm sure. This is not another love story. It's a life story, set in the world of Arts, where there's more to discover behind the colors of paintings and the still faces of sculptures than meets the eye. As the movie comes to an end, you will face a difficult task: to be thankful that such a story made it to the big screen, or to desire that it would've remain only in the writer's mind and heart. I give it a full 10, with no regrets. Awaiting more from Tornatore-Rush team! They get along pretty well I see.
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This is, by far, my most favorite movie of this year! I've always been a Geoffrey Rush fan, but in this movie, I've seen a very special Rush who, by the way his on screen persona goes thru a life changing metamorphosis, creates a real, day-to-day living among us man with real life personal fears, heartbreaking disillusions and self rediscovering. He makes us care for the very rigid and robotic Virgil Oldman in a way that surprises the senses. He is, in the beginning, a character who most people would find repelling by his uncomfortable attitude and bossy ways. But, as the movie proceeds, he is changed by this peculiar and frightful young woman who has a way of bringing him up, and crushing him down within minutes in their dialog. I must say that director Tornatore wrote this amazingly beautiful story with a golden pencil, I'm sure. This is not another love story. It's a life story, set in the world of Arts, where there's more to discover behind the colors of paintings and the still faces of sculptures than meets the eye. As the movie comes to an end, you will face a difficult task: to be thankful that such a story made it to the big screen, or to desire that it would've remain only in the writer's mind and heart. I give it a full 10, with no regrets. Awaiting more from Tornatore-Rush team! They get along pretty well I see.