Nightwatching 夜巡林布蘭

In a melange of humor both good and ill, the film “Nightwatching” revolves in the same way as the painting around a self-defacing tale of vile acts and accounts of innocence, raped of virtue. Meanwhile, lust and covetousness shield grief and confusion as the lofty ideals of an art form are challenged at the foundations of their authority.

As we are often reminded so sarcastically, history is written by the winners, and in whichever light they may choose. Obviously, the victor unavoidably picks out the heroic position. Even the ever-popularized anti-villain in new films like last week’s release of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” fresh off the bat (pardon the pun), find themselves inevitably driven to cling to a relatable and amiable character to guide us through all the madness.

After all, if the hero isn’t likeable, then it’s hard to accept being saved by this warm hearted murderous skulker in the dark.

“Nightwatching” skulks just that little bit further though.

Crossing the proverbial line so ingrained in human instinct, it paints onwards into a unique darkness of its own, which from very first confrontation is nauseating and makes no sense at all.

Like Rembrant (Martin Freeman) at the start of the flick, the audience is flung naked, blind and shivering with drunken madness into the night.

He dreams that he is a “nightwatcher,” living in an eternal darkness, where his life, his artwork, his colors are forever beyond him. “How would you describe the color red to a blind person?” he asks his servant.

With pedantic and tortured dark humor, Rembrant teases out our associations with feelings, starting with what he knows best; the visual. He talks of the yellow of a radiant sun, a bright warm husk of red, which turns cold and dark before the artist gradually sinks into a bitter mar of stories, which sticks up the ears and eyes like treacle.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email