The Painter and the Thief (2020)
92%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: 18 wins & 29 nominations
The Painter and the Thief uses the unlikely bond between a criminal and his victim as the canvas for a compelling portrait of compassion and forgiveness.
The Painter and the Thief is like a real-life version of a buddy comedy, but with a twist. Who knew that a painter and a thief could become such unlikely friends? The documentary is full of surprises, heartbreak, and redemption, and it’s hard not to get emotionally invested in the lives of these two fascinating characters. It’s a story that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even question your own assumptions about forgiveness and compassion. Plus, the paintings are pretty cool too.
Production Company(ies)
Dream Works Animation, Mad Hatter Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment,
Distributor
Neon
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2020
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 42m
-
Language(s):English, Norwegian
-
Country of origin:Norway
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 22, 2020 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2020
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, art, friendship, theft, forgiveness, Norwegian, Barbora Kysilkova, Karl-Bertil Nordland, Øystein Stene, Benjamin Ree, Ingvil Giske, Morgan Neville, reviewed by David Stratton, Paul Byrnes, Nick Schager, Ed Potton, Wendy Ide, Leila Latif, James Luxford, CJ Sheu, Travis Johnson, Sarah Ward, CJ Johnson, directed by Benjamin Ree, written by Benjamin Ree, produced by Ingvil Giske, box office performance, budget, MPAA rating, Czech artist, paintings, unlikely friendship, criminal, victim, twists, turns, heartbreak, failure, redemption, surprising, heist, villains, intimacy, compassion, true-crime tale, relationship saga, surprising turn of events, familiar subjects, genre-mixing, boundary-blurring, human need, photo-realistic, pathos, darkness, surprise
Worldwide gross: $474,392
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $541,360
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,716
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 59,036
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Karl-Bertil Nordland – Self
Øystein Stene – Self
Benjamin Ree – Director
Ingvil Giske – Producer
Morgan Neville – Executive Producer
Director(s)
Benjamin Ree
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Ingvil Giske
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
18 wins & 29 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (111) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (4)
If this were a fiction film it would surely be dismissed as totally unbelievable; since it’s not, this portrait of two totally fascinating characters proves to be as riveting as any thriller.
April 3, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
The Painter and the Thief is a superb Norwegian documentary about a painter who befriended the criminal who stole two of her paintings. He then became her muse.
March 25, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
A true-crime tale reconfigured into a unique relationship saga, replete with twists, turns, heartbreak, failure and redemption that’s as surprising as it is well-earned.
February 2, 2021
Nick Schager
The Daily Beast
TOP CRITIC
Benjamin Ree’s extraordinary documentary feels like a movie – there’s a heist, villains who are not what they seem, scenes of striking intimacy and some fabulous twists.
November 2, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Ed Potton
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Fascinating, confounding and continually surprising…
November 1, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A beautiful story about extraordinary compassion.
October 30, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Leila Latif
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
A story of forgiveness over judgement, The Painter and The Thief is a satisfying journey capped by a surprising turn of events in the final moments. It demands that you look at familiar subjects in a different way, and comes away all the richer for it.
February 26, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
James Luxford
City AM
Genre-mixing, and not just boundary-blurring, has finally come to documentaries.
October 5, 2021
CJ Sheu
Review Film Review
To be seen, to be heard, to be accepted – isn’t that all anyone really wants?
September 2, 2021
Travis Johnson
sbs.com.au
Fascinating, thoughtful, moving and astonishing… unfurls a tale so layered and wild that it can only be true.
March 28, 2021
Sarah Ward
Concrete Playground
An almost uncomfortably intimate portrait of the strange vagaries of human need … Like Kysilkova’s paintings, The Painter and the Thief is photo-realistic but artfully constructed for maximum pathos, darkness and surprise.
March 21, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
CJ Johnson
Film Mafia
The film can’t make the case that the story, while unusual, is inherently interesting. Odd couples have existed since time immemorial, and Ree never illuminates these two people enough to make their stories worthy of a documentary.
February 8, 2021
Alex Bentley
CultureMap…
Plot
The Painter and the Thief is a documentary about a Czech artist who befriends the man who stole two of her paintings, leading to a compelling portrait of compassion and forgiveness.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova and the man who stole two of her paintings, Karl-Bertil Nordland.
Benjamin-Ree.jpg
