'The Painted Bird': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about controversial WWII drama
The controversial black-and-white Czech film 'The Painted Bird', billed as a "Holocaust epic", had viewers running for the exits at its first public screening at the Venice film festival. With scenes featuring incest, rape, mutilation and, bestiality, it juxtaposes the innocence of childhood with the war-torn horrors of Eastern Europe towards the end of World War II. It won the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival in the category of 'Best Cinematography', the Critics Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival, and the 'UNICEF Award' for child rights at the Venice Film Festival. It also won many honors in Europe, especially Czech and Polish.
Release date:
The film had its worldwide premiere at the 76th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2019. IFC Films became the distributor of the film for the United States in October 2019. It will be released in theaters and on demand July 17, 2020, in the US.
Plot:
Adapted from a novel by Polish writer Jerzy Kosiński, the film follows the journey of 'The Boy', Joska, entrusted by his persecuted Jewish parents to an elderly foster mother. The old woman soon dies and Joska is left on his own, wandering through the countryside, from village to village, farmhouse to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, he suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the ignorant, superstitious peasants and he witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both Russian and German. In a defining scene, one of the peasants shows Joska the flight of a captive bird, whom the man has painted and then released back into its own flock. The bird is immediately ripped apart because it is different from its fellows. That lesson reinforces all that the young refugee already knows and will soon know better: being different is fatal. But there are rare moments of compassion: a German soldier spares him, a priest intervenes on his behalf, and finally, he becomes the protégé of a Russian sniper, who is kind to the child, but ruthless with the enemy. And there are signs of love. Joska is seduced by an older girl, finally rediscovering the comfort of intimacy, only to realize that he has been used. When he is miraculously reunited with his weakened father at the end of the war, Joska is cold and impenetrable, hardened by his ordeal. Yet we can still glimpse something of his old, sensitive nature behind the eyes of his new self, leaving some space for hope.
Cast:
Stellan Skarsgård as Hans
Hans is a war-weary German soldier, who spares Joska, the film's young protagonist when ordered to kill him. Stellan Skarsgård who plays him was one of the first actors cast in the film. Skarsgård is a Swedish actor well-known for several of his roles. Some of them include the brusque Professor Gerald Lambeau in 'Good Will Hunting', Bootstrap Bill Turner in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise, Martin Vanger in 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo', Dr. Erik Selvig in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films like 'Thor' and 'The Avengers'. Most recently, he portrayed Boris Shcherbina in the HBO/Sky UK television miniseries 'Chernobyl' for which he won a Golden Globe.
Harvey Keitel as the Priest
The Priest character is one of the very few people who show Joska some kindness, without any ulterior motives. Harvey Keitel portrays the priest in the film. He has previously starred in classics like 'Taxi Driver', 'The Last Temptation of Christ', 'Thelma & Louise', 'The Piano', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction', 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' and most recently in the 2019 film 'The Irishman'.
Julian Sands as Garbos
Garbos, a villager, takes in the boy but also rapes him, off-screen. Julian Sands, who plays Garbos is an English actor known for his roles in films such as 'The Killing Fields', 'A Room with a View', 'Warlock', and 'Arachnophobia'. On television, he is known for playing Vladimir Bierko in '24', Jor-El in 'Smallville', and Piero di Cosimo de' Medici in 'Medici: Masters of Florence'.
Creator:
The film was written, directed, and produced by Václav Marhoul. He is a Czech film director, screenwriter, and actor. He studied at Prague's FAMU, graduating in 1984. He directed his first film 'Mazaný Filip', based on Raymond Chandler's books, in 2003. In 2008, his second film 'Tobruk' premiered. 'The Painted Bird' is his third film.
Trailer:
The trailer's voiceover is a priest relating the story of Jesus and how he suffered at the hands of other men, juxtaposed with the terrifying journey of a young boy across a harsh European landscape in the last throes of World War II, who only "wants to go home."
If you like this, you'll love:
'Schindler's List', 'Saving Private Ryan', 'The Reader', 'The Pianist' and 'Life is Beautiful'.