The Painter and the Theif

 The Painter and the Thief is a documentary that chronicles a robbery of two paintings by artist Brobaro Kysikova. In this film, the artist befriends one of the thieves and has a lasting, impactful, friendship with the thief Karl Bertil. This choice affects the artist’s personal and professional life.

            This film starts with a gallery showing by the artist Brobaro Kysikova. The movie then shows a replay of the robbery where two paintings are stolen in broad daylight. One quickly realizes this is the gallery showing by Kysikova. The robbers come in through the back door with trash cans, cut the paintings from their stretcher bars, roll the canvases up with tape and string, and leave as quickly as they appeared. The film next moves into a phone conversation with the artist Brobaro Kysikova and the police department. The officer explains the theft of the paintings. Kysikova is, of course, distraught and in the film, the paintings are described as her best works up until this point. 

            The next important clip one might feel is her meeting with the thief Karl Bertil. The artist asks and interviews him to find out what happened to her paintings. In questioning, Bertil tells her his life story and she becomes infatuated with him. Before the end of the questioning, she asks him if she can paint and draw him. He agrees. This starts a very torrid friendship with the thief of the artist’s paintings. The film flips back and forth with conversations between her boyfriend and herself talking to each other and sometimes with a therapist.  Mostly she is speaking to whoever is filming and the camera is on the artist.  It seems to be staged. This brings the film less credibility. It does not seem original.

            This is where the tone of the friendship starts to change. Bertil has a drug problem and is a thief he received eight years in prison for the painting robbery.  During his time in prison, Kysikova becomes closer to this man as he models for her. This man seems to go from job to job. He has a few girlfriends in the film. Which one leaves after he steals a car and has a horrible wreck. The car is shown crushed with very little windshield left. Bertil has to rehabilitate. Kysikova takes him food and makes sure his needs are taken care of when she is not selling enough work to pay her bills. Kysikova is spending more time worrying about Bertil than working or taking care of her own finances.  The artist’s relationship with her boyfriend suffers naturally so because he feels the connection with Bertil is too strong and she has emotional ties to people that are unhealthy for her. This seems to be a pattern that is brought to light in therapy with other situations. She eventually has to get help to pay her bills even though she is making sure Karl Bertil is getting the care he needs.  Bertil finally starts to clean up his life. He changes after a lengthy stint in prison and rehab.

            Kysikova finds out the other thief of her painting is out of prison so she wants to question him. She finds out where her painting might be located and recovers the one painting.  It is where the robber Meckel says it might still reside. It is a very emotional journey for her and she finds the painting Swan Song.

            The artist still cannot find the painting Bertil stole he was too inebriated to remember and still can not recall what happened to the artwork.  The artist through contact and pictures keeps painting her thief friend. She finishes the paintings she started of Karl Bertel and invites him to help her hang her show. The documentary shows clips of them hanging the show. This gives the film a showing of powerful emotion. Kysikova tells Bertil the story of retrieving the painting and he helps her frame it and she unveils her masterpiece. It is surprisingly a picture of her laying half-undressed on top of him. It was an eye-opening moment. This is showing her secret longing to always be with him. This artist made this happen on canvas instead of in reality. It feels like at this point it is definitely more than friendship. It seems like you learn from the painting and also the sacrifices she has made that she is in love with him.

            This documentary depicts a twisted tale of friendship that started as a robbery.  I would recommend this documentary to another artist because the narrative is interesting.  The paintings are also beautiful. It also shows how to go beyond forgiveness and help your fellow man.