Le dernier Vermeer

After the war, Hermann Göring's stash of stolen art is found. Among them is a Vermeer painting titled Christ and the Adulteress. Joseph Piller investigates how it ended up there. The Dutch Jew was a tailor before the war. He joined the resistance and is now a Canadian Captain in the Allied Command. He traces the painting back to uncooperative art dealer Han Van Meegeren (Guy Pearce). The Allies are slowly being replaced by the Dutch government and Piller has to solve the mystery before losing his case.

I don't know anything about the history which is part of the point of the movie. It's rare to be completely surprised these days but this one takes an unexpected turn. It's a fine crime drama and mystery for the first half. I did find Van Meegeren's reticent somewhat repetitive until the reveal changes it all. I was expecting a vast conspiracy but this has something on a more human level from everybody like Piller's wife and Dirk Hannema. It's a fascinating true story.

Guy Pierce steals the scene in every scene he's in. Very charismatic, boozy, apolitical and passionate painter with a fragile body and delicate upturned eyebrows. Great performance!

Everyone else gives solid performances, but seems to struggle with their accents which distracts sometimes from what they're saying.

A good movie with worthwhile questions about morality and survival during wartime; however many questions are not as satisfactorily answered as they could have been within the film. However a movie that leaves a question in your mind is worth a watch anyway.

I liked that the film dealt with a time that is not as covered in mainstream media, such as the dissolution of the allied powers after World War II, and the change of occupying such as the American military as liberators to nuisances during the Dutch reconstruction.

Most of the main characters were real people and much of the story line is authentic, however a number of things were changed for movie-making reasons.

It is 1945 and teams of allies are looking for artwork stolen by the Germans, with the goal of returning them to their rightful owners. The hunt leads them to Dutch painter, Guy Pearce as Han Van Meegeren, who it seems might have been a Nazi sympathizer. His name came up in the trail for one of the paintings which might have been the last Vermeer from the 1600s.

Pearce s really good in his role, as are the other actors. The story moves along deliberately most of the time but that is good, it is a good story to tell.

I watched it at home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped.

It was the two main actors, Claes Bang and Guy Pearce that made this historical film a watchable event. I really enjoyed it. The film is more of a drama/thriller than a bio movie which elevates it a little better than a boring bio feature. There was a touch of humor there and there which lifted the mood a bit which I appreciated throughout the film. A good watch if you are into historical dramas or have a interest in the art world. 7 stars.

The story takes a turn from a wartime story to a court room drama. Both parts equally interest me. I enjoyed it.