Art has the power to inspire, provoke, start conversations, educate as well as transform the space that it’s in. Its meaning shifting as time passes by and trends change. Tapping into the elusive world of art, writer and director Freddie Fox observes both human and metaphysical interaction with quirky watch The Painting and the Statue.
Typically works of art subject to human scrutiny, The Painting & the Statue somewhat flips this notion on its head, the well to do household exhibiting a prized collection of art works simultaneously the focus of the film as well as not being the focus – an impossible reality that gives the film its magic. Camera angles predominantly zoned in on the various characters that inhabit the museum hall, we the audience function as flies on the wall. At points as if we ourselves are the art works looking within.
Fox delivers a fun alternate reality within the mundane – split into 5 acts, light hearted conversations intertwine around a Roman statue and Renaissance painting’s gradual connection. Spanning 250 years, we watch time fly as generations of a family navigate significant time periods – the Georgian, Victorian, Roaring Twenties, and modern eras (20th and 21st Centuries). From subtle eye rolls, to genuine fascination to flippant conversation, the ensemble enliven the screen.
A much welcome delve into the imaginative and metaphysical, The Painting and the Statue entertainly examines history and explores connection – not only from the vantage point of the art works, but the spectators also.
Review written by Lucy Basaba.
The Painting & the Statue was shown at the TCL Chinese Theatre as part of this year’s HollyShorts Film Festival. To find out more about the film, visit here…
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