A fascinating historical film about the trial of the Dutch artist Hannah van Meegeren, accused in 1945 of collaboration and selling classics of Dutch painting to the Nazis. The accused turns out to be a slippery type, which creates intrigue for the viewer - whether this person really deserves punishment or is just a clever charlatan who knows how to fool any authority by slipping something completely different instead of famous paintings. Captain Joseph Piller tries to understand the essence of the case of Meegeren and goes deeper than the usual detective story can contain. Piller asks questions about the essence of art, about the personality of the artist, to draw a line between white and black, crime and its absence, between a real artist and a talented forger - both can write wonderful paintings and none of the critics will even see the difference. But the artist carries his name in front of him, exposes him to the blows of critics, envious and the public, goes through the fire, Piller says. And the forger in the broad sense forges both paintings, reality, and his own personality - not some critics, but he personally closes his way forward, to the disclosure of his own, not someone else's talent, and, therefore, destroys himself not only in a professional sense, but also in a personal one.
Among the actors, I would like to note the role of Piller performed by Claes Bang, known for The Burnt Orange Heresy, a film that also focuses on the topic of painting, but is more modern and cynical than the Dutch classics. I enjoyed watching Vicky Krips in a small role as Piller’s assistant, a wonderful actress who gives the investigative film a bit of romance.