The Painted Bird (2019)
Coming Out in theaters at September 12, 2019.
“Nabarvené ptáče”
Drama, War
Based on the acclaimed Jerzy Kosiriski novel, THE PAINTED BIRD is a meticulous 35mm black and white evocation of wild, primitive Eastern Europe at the bloody close of World War I. The film primiered at September 3, 2019 on Venice Film Festival. The film follows the journey of The Boy, entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother. The old woman soon dies and the Boy is on his own, wandering through the countryside, from village to village, farmhouse to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, The Boy 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 The Boy 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 The Boy already knows and will soon know better: difference is fatal. But there are rare moments of compassion: a German soldier spares The Boy, a priest intervenes on his behalf, and finally The Boy becomes the protégé of a Russian sniper, who is kind to the child, but ruthless with the enemy. And there are signs of love. The Boy is seduced by an older girl, finally re-discovering 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, The Boy is cold and impenetrable, hardened by his ordeal. Yet we can still glimpse something of the old, sensitive Boy behind the eyes of the new. Perhaps there is hope.
Director: Václav Marhoul
Writers: Jerzy Kosinski (novel), Václav Marhoul (adaptation)
Stars: Petr Kotlár, Nina Sunevic, Alla Sokolova, Stanislav Bilyi, Ostap Dziadek, Zdenek Pecha, Michaela Dolezalová
►Cast:
| Petr Kotlár | … | Joska |
| Nina Sunevic | … | Marta |
| Alla Sokolova | … | Olga |
| Stanislav Bilyi | … | Villager |
| Ostap Dziadek | … | Peasant |
| Zdenek Pecha | … | Labourer |
| Michaela Dolezalová | … | Miller’s wife |
| Udo Kier | … | Miller |
| Lech Dyblik | … | Lekh |
| Jitka Cvancarová | … | Ludmila |
| Daniel Beroun | … | Tall adolescent |
| Marika Sarah Procházková | … | Woman #1 |
| Marie Stripkova | … | Woman #2 |
| Milan Simácek | … | Horse owner |
| Martin Nahálka | … | Red partisan commander |
| Stellan Skarsgård | … | Hans |
| Dominik Weber | … | Feldwebel |
| Petr Jenista | … | Waffen SS soldier |
| Irena Máchová | … | Jewish woman with baby |
| Josef Bedlivy | … | Jewish boy |
| Tomás Kraus | … | Jewish man |
| Pavel Kríz | … | Zealous man |
| Harvey Keitel | … | Priest |
| Ondrej Malina | … | SS Scharfuhrer |
| Tim Kalkhof | … | SS Officer |
| Jan Monczka | … | 2nd Priest |
| Julian Sands | … | Garbos |
| Petr Klimes | … | Old man |
| Julia Valentova | … | Labina |
| Alexander Leopold Schank | … | SS Officer |
| Denisa Pfauserová | … | Raped woman |
| Radim Fiala | … | Cossack commander |
| Aleksey Kravchenko | … | Gavrila |
| Alexander Minajev | … | Red army commanding officer |
| Barry Pepper | … | Mitka |
| Petr Stach | … | Commission chairman |
| Andrej Polák | … | Doctor in Orphanage |
| Jan Meduna | … | Attendant I. |
| Krystof Rímský | … | Attendant II. |
| Filip Kankovský | … | Stallholder |
| Petr Vanek | … | Nikodem |
| Tereza Martínková | ||
| Filip Richtermoc | ||
| Eric Srbeny | ||
| Jan Pavlicek | ||
| Jiri Slavik | ||
| Petr Ostrouchov | ||
| Ivo Proks | ||
| Martin Sanda | ||
| Josef Kurka | ||
| Jakub R. Spur | ||
| Klara Konvalinkova | ||
| Karel Dvorák | ||
| Zdenek Krupicka | ||
| Pavel Rubin | ||
| Martin Kotas | ||
| Krystof Peterka | ||
| Helena Bartova | ||
| Robert Barta | ||
| Daniela Repova | ||
| Vaclav Marhoul Jr. | ||
| Lukas Marhoul | ||
| Tomas Marhoul | ||
| Antonin Sejvl | ||
| Lukas Kapko | ||
| Petr Koza | … | Stand ins for Petr Kotlar |
| Jakub Chytil | … | Stand ins for Petr Kotlar |
| Stepán Havlín | … | Pimp |
| Antonín Masek | … | Young Boy |
| David L. Price | … | Homeless Man |
| Claudia Vaseková | … | Additional voices |