"The Artist and the Thief": Real or fake? A mysterious bond captured in three and a half years of close coverage. *Warning! Contains spoilers.

*This article touches on the core of the story, so we recommend reading it after watching the movie.

Synopsis of "The Painter and the Thief"

Two paintings were stolen by someone. The artist tracks down the culprit, but the culprit insists that he "doesn't remember." The artist suddenly suggests, "Let me paint you," and an unexpected relationship begins between the two.

Index

• A story about a thief who steals a painting and an artist who paints the thief's painting
• A mysterious bond captured through three and a half years of close coverage
• Is it possible? Is it impossible? The thin wall between real and fake
• Behind the scenes of the documentary as told by the people involved
• What is the meaning behind the last picture?

A story about a thief who steals a painting and an artist who paints the thief's painting

---

Many people cannot believe stories that are too good to be true and say that they are unrealistic. On the other hand, true stories that are too good to be true are also often said to be unrealistic. The documentary film "The Painter and the Thief," which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, is a film that many people suspect is fake because it is "too good to be true."

It all started with a theft that occurred in Oslo, the capital of Norway, in 2015. Two oil paintings exhibited at a gallery were stolen. One was quite large, measuring 200cm x 140cm, and the other 150cm x 230cm.

The perpetrators carefully removed the 200 nails that had secured the painting to the frame, rolled up the canvas, and then carried it off. Their skillful handling suggested that they must have been professional. The two perpetrators made no bold attempt to hide from security cameras, and were identified and arrested shortly after.

"The Painter and the Thief" © MadeGood Films 2024

The artist of the painting, Barbora Kisilkova, was curious as to why her anonymous painting had been stolen, and met with one of the thieves in court. When asked why he stole it, the thief, named Bertil, replied, "Because it was pretty." When asked where the painting was, he said, "I was high and I don't remember anything."

It was a dubious response, to say the least, but Barbora believed it. Or at least she decided to believe it. In fact, something more important than getting the painting back arose. Barbora was so taken with Bertil's appearance that she asked the tattooed thief to be a model for her painting.

A mysterious bond captured through three and a half years of close coverage