Rembrandt's J'Accuse
Rembrandt’s J’Accuse occupies an unsteady patch of ground, jostled about by the competing labels of documentary, historical re-enactment, art film, conspiracy theory, and police procedural. As writer, director, and presenter, Peter Greenaway leads a forensic investigation of Rembrandt’s “Night Watch,” uncovering clues in the painting that suggest the murderous impulses of the men it depicts. At the same time, the film explores the motivations of the painter himself, whose life and career began to unravel soon after “Night Watch” was completed. A broader indictment emerges from Greenaway’s analysis concerning the present culture’s visual and artistic illiteracy. He pulls meaning and symbolism out of Rembrandt’s masterpiece to emphasize just how much the conventions of film and television have dulled our understanding of art. This is a distinctly atypical yet funny and assured film as much an analysis of cinema as it is an exercise in art history. Viewers should prepare themselves for some self-reflexive mental yoga but can be reassured that they will emerge from the theater more limber for the experience.
Sponsor:
Art Institute of Seattle
Cast & Crew
Director: Peter Greenaway
Producer: Femke Wolting, Bruno Felix
Editor: Elmer Leupen, Irma de Vries
Screenwriter: Peter Greenaway
Cinematographer: Reiner Van Brummelen
Music: Giovanni Sollima, Marco Robino
Principal Cast: Featuring: Martin Freeman, Eva Birthistle, Jodhi May, Emily Holmes, Jonathan Holmes, Michael Teigen, Natalie Press
Filmography: 8 1/2 Women (1999); The Pillow Book (1996); Prospero’s Books (1991); The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989); Drowning By Numbers (1988); The Belly of an Architect (1987); A Zed & Two Noughts (1985); The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982)
World Sales: ContentFilm International
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(4 reviews)
user reviews
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A brilliant return to form, May 28, 2009
By Jason Eckelman
“The last Greenaway film I saw was "8 1/2 Women", which I thought, frankly, was pretty awful. "Rembrandt's J'Accuse", however, is a startling & fascinating return to form, something like "The Pillow Book", but without that films longeurs & occasional plodding excess. Essentially, Greenaway dissects”
… full review
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art history for dummies, May 28, 2009
By Felicia Mehl
“There is so much more to The Night Watch than this film would lead you to believe. Admittedly, I'm not that familiar with Greenaway and attended the film only because of my love of the painting.
Unfortunately, there's nothing new here about the work. It might be a good film to show in schools”
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masterpiece, Jun 02, 2009
By Roumy Stoyanova
“Great, imaganative exploaration of the painting masterpiece, presented in somewhat monotonous pace. ”
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Interesting, but exhausting, Jun 11, 2009
By Mimi Noyes
“Quirky documentary/re-enactment film by Peter Greenaway about Rembrandt's painting The Nightwatch. Very interesting and entertaining but a bit like going to a really intense college history class in those nightmares we all have where you didn't show up for the entire quarter and only just now have”
… full review
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