The Painted Bird
Based on the novel by Jerzy Kosinski, The Painted Bird is a meticulous black and white evocation of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War II.
Please note that this film is in Czech, German, Russian and Latin, with Dutch subtitles.
The film follows the journey of the Boy, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The old woman soon dies and the Boy is on his own, wandering through the countryside, from village to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, the Boy suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the superstitious peasants and he witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German. When the war ends, the Boy has been changed, forever.
Václav Marhoul, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Ukraine, 2020, 169 min. Czech, German, Russian & Latin spoken, Dutch subtitles.
With Petr Kotlár, Udo Kier, Lech Dyblik, Jitka Čvančarová, Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel.