RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR – It is somewhat hard to describe this movie directed by Milorad Krstic, he in an interview with the online magazine Cartoon Brew suggests that in making this animation film he was contemplating different elements in the story: “I’m a painter, and I said to myself one day: Let’s make a feature animated film about paintings. And to make it more interesting for the audience, let it be a crime story about the paintings. It could be a film about a serial robber of the famous museums of the world. And the robber is stealing the paintings, not because of their value, he doesn’t want the money – he is forced to steal the painting because they haunt him, they are attacking him in his nightmares.”
The movie starts with Ruben Brandt –a world-famous clinical psychologist– travelling on one of those beautiful and splendid European trains; it is here when we learn about these strange dreams where characters from various paintings haunt him. The next thing we learn is that Mimi, who is an amazing acrobat and used to be a stunt in movies, has just managed to escape after stealing some valuable piece of art. Mimi is closely pursued by detective Mike Kowalski, but catching her won’t be any easy.
Mimi is joined by three other “specialists” who are also seeking therapy with Ruben Brandt and who would be the robbers of the thirteen masterpieces by Caravaggio to Picasso to Velasquez to Warhol, which will be ingeniously and boldly taken from such famous museums as the Louvre, Hermitage, the Tate Gallery, the Uffizi or the Museum of Modern Art. The film also makes reference to the cinema noir of the 1930s and some other classic movies. And surprises and twists in the plot will keep you interested all the time.
This is a movie that those who love art and great cinema will certainly enjoy. It is an animation film, but don’t fall into that old stereotype that associates this genre with children, in fact, this is a movie that adults, especially those interested in painting, should like. Besides, the theme and some of the scenes are not even appropriate for kids.
The carefully hand-painted scenes of this film that took six years to make have at the same time a realistic and a surrealistic tone, Freud would have loved them, and the images are just glorious. I should also mention the score of the film by Tibor Carl as another great trait of this movie. I strongly recommend it.
Running time: 96 min.
