The playin with light and shade in the opening scene is distinctly familiar, reminding me of the meat packing house and truck in auteur Peter Greenaway's classic :The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover" (1989) (and, incidentally, a Helen Mirren that is very different from her latest screen persona of HM QE II). Throughout "Nightwatching", this mesmerizing visual trance persists, set in the seventeenth century Dutch Golden Age. And there is Baroque background music to match the mood.
To those whose only awareness of the name Rembrandt is that it belongs with the same group as Van Gough (as is my case), this movie is informative, perhaps even instructive to the extent of its contents that are not fictionalized. Told in somewhat unusual fashion, Nightwatching is the story of the legendary Dutch painter from it zenith of fame and fortune to eventual decline. Somewhat unusual in that at various intervals of the convention linear story, there are interjections of the protagonist soliloquizing, talking directly to the audience. Nearly soliloquizing, I should say, because the subject matter of each of these scenes is someone important to his life, who appears beside him and makes sparodic responses. Most prominent of these are his wife Saskia (Eva Birthistle) and his romance/erotic liaisons Hendrickje (Emily Holmes) and Geertje (Jodhi May). There are also other scenes with similar distinct flavour.
The title role belongs, however, to Rembrandt's most famous painting, "The Night Watch", which is arguably also the most controversial. The movie recounts in great detail how this work is commissioned by the Amsterdam Musketeer Militia, not really soldiers but an exclusive social club of a group of influential merchants. What started out as a lucrative professional and artistic, but otherwise ordinary undertaking turns ominous when one of the merchants dies, purportedly as a result of an accident. Upon discovering that there is possible treachery and perhaps even murder, Rembrandt used his elaborated painting to make an accusation, through subtle hidden clues. The revenge attempts of the accused eventually led to his decline in fortune.
His other misfortune, from a more natural cause, is Saskia's failing health and eventual death. While his sorry is genuine, it does not take long for him to seek solace, in succession, in two servants: erotic, vulgar Geertje and young, modest Hendrickje. The three women's distinct quality intelligence, sensuousness and innocence, respectively are well portrayed by the three actresses.
Martin Freeman's portrayal of Rembrandt is a man of immense talent but unrefined character that can be almost described as bawdy and licentious. Whether this is true to history or not, it makes good dramatic appeal. With a fair amount of focus on the murder mystery, Director Greenaway has made this, his latest film, more appealing to the non-art-house audience. The two-hour-plus adventure into Greenaway-land however would probably be still a bit too much for the audience at large to take. Greenaway admirers, needless to say, will ensure that they won't miss "Nightwatching".
To those whose only awareness of the name Rembrandt is that it belongs with the same group as Van Gough (as is my case), this movie is informative, perhaps even instructive to the extent of its contents that are not fictionalized. Told in somewhat unusual fashion, Nightwatching is the story of the legendary Dutch painter from it zenith of fame and fortune to eventual decline. Somewhat unusual in that at various intervals of the convention linear story, there are interjections of the protagonist soliloquizing, talking directly to the audience. Nearly soliloquizing, I should say, because the subject matter of each of these scenes is someone important to his life, who appears beside him and makes sparodic responses. Most prominent of these are his wife Saskia (Eva Birthistle) and his romance/erotic liaisons Hendrickje (Emily Holmes) and Geertje (Jodhi May). There are also other scenes with similar distinct flavour.
The title role belongs, however, to Rembrandt's most famous painting, "The Night Watch", which is arguably also the most controversial. The movie recounts in great detail how this work is commissioned by the Amsterdam Musketeer Militia, not really soldiers but an exclusive social club of a group of influential merchants. What started out as a lucrative professional and artistic, but otherwise ordinary undertaking turns ominous when one of the merchants dies, purportedly as a result of an accident. Upon discovering that there is possible treachery and perhaps even murder, Rembrandt used his elaborated painting to make an accusation, through subtle hidden clues. The revenge attempts of the accused eventually led to his decline in fortune.
His other misfortune, from a more natural cause, is Saskia's failing health and eventual death. While his sorry is genuine, it does not take long for him to seek solace, in succession, in two servants: erotic, vulgar Geertje and young, modest Hendrickje. The three women's distinct quality intelligence, sensuousness and innocence, respectively are well portrayed by the three actresses.
Martin Freeman's portrayal of Rembrandt is a man of immense talent but unrefined character that can be almost described as bawdy and licentious. Whether this is true to history or not, it makes good dramatic appeal. With a fair amount of focus on the murder mystery, Director Greenaway has made this, his latest film, more appealing to the non-art-house audience. The two-hour-plus adventure into Greenaway-land however would probably be still a bit too much for the audience at large to take. Greenaway admirers, needless to say, will ensure that they won't miss "Nightwatching".