The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (1979)

Original title

L’hypothèse du tableau volé

Directed by

Raúl Ruiz

Genre

drama film

Country

France

Runtime

1h 06m

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 49 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A narrator guides a small group around a private art collection, pointing out a series of six paintings. He argues that a missing seventh painting holds the key to understanding the others. The film is a mock documentary that examines the relationship between images and meaning.

intellectualplayfulmysteriousslow-pacedanalyticalself-awarestagedcerebral

What happens

The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (French: L'Hypothèse du tableau volé) is a 1978 French drama film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz and shot by cinematographer Sacha Vierny. The film was inspired by the themes of French writer Pierre Klossowski (1905 - 2001) and makes references to many of Klossowski's works including The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, The Baphomet and “La Judith de Frédérique Tonnerre.” Ruiz was originally commissioned by a French TV network to make an arts documentary on Klossowski, but what emerged is this film, a parody of the art documentary. The film was featured in film festivals after its release such as the London Film Festival in 1979. Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting has been noted as one of Ruiz's masterpieces that challenges the boundaries of cinema and film theory. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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