He
can channel the styles of Gauguin, Matisse, and Modigliani, but his latest
canvas still remains unfinished. This
had led to a distinctly stratified caste system for the inhabitants of his unfinished
work. Love will lead to a quest for the
creator in Jean-François Laguionie’s The
Painting (trailer
here), which
screens during the IFC Center’s retrospective tribute to GKIDS.
Ramo
is one of the few fully painted “Alldunns” who shows a capacity for
empathy. It obviously has something to
do with his Romeo-like love for Claire, the Modigliani-esque incomplete “Halfie.” As decreed by the Grand Chandelier, the Alldunns live large in the castle, the Halfies huddle in the surrounding garden, and the
poor, oppressed Sketchies are banished to the forest. Ramo’s social mingling is strongly
discouraged and social mobility is nonexistent.
Defying
the Alldunn ruling order, Ramo sets out with Claire’s Halfie BFF Lola and a
fugitive Sketchie to find the painter and convince him to finish his work. When
the trio reaches the edge of their canvas, they discover they can hop into other
paintings, including a nude study of the voluptuous Garance, clearly modeled
after Odalisque. Soon they frolic in a Venice where carnival never ends and
pick up a defector from a war time painting (which seems out of place in the
painter’s early modern oeuvre).
Of
course, it is all working towards a tidy message of tolerance. The film’s heart is in the right place, but unfortunately
there is an awkward logic Alldunns’ claim to superiority—that the artist cared
enough about them to actually finish them.
Characterization is not exactly Laguionie and co-writer Anik Leray’s
strong suit either, but at least Lola emerges as a resourceful role model for
young girls.
