This week’s Cinechats selection: The Last Vermeer
The campus community is invited to enjoy a film screening presented by Cinechats, which is supported in part by Â鶹´«Ã½ University, Durham College, Arts Forum and the Durham Council for the Arts. Age restrictions apply, as most films are rated for those 18 years of age and older.
This week’s selection is . One part mystery and two-parts character study, this story takes place in The Netherlands in May 1945, three months after the fall of Nazi Germany. "A Dutch Jew with a Canadian uniform," Captain Claes Bang (Joseph Piller) oversees finding out who sold stolen art to the Nazis. Among the priceless works recovered is a painting called "Christ and the Adulteress" by Johannes Vermeer. Chief among the suspects is art dealer Han van Meegeren (Guy Pearce). He's as cool and composed as he is urbane and witty. Captain Bang concludes that, depending on whom you ask, his suspect is either Satan or a saint.
Pearce delivers a winning performance as the colorful, worldly, self-confident Meegeren. When someone points out that the powerful Nazi Hermann Goring paid a fortune for the Vermeer, Megeeren points out that that only "proves that pigs can sometimes have taste. Or too much money."
Loosely based on actual events, this directorial debut by Dan Friedkin gets high marks for its ambiguous figure who may be villain, victim, or a bit of both. Pearce steals the show and he is ably supported by a solid ensemble cast.
Schedule and venue
- Thursday, May 25, 6:15 p.m., Science Building, Room UA 1220
