The Painted Bird – A Bleak War-Time Epic

Based on the controversial 1965 book from Polish writer Jerzy Kosinski, the film adaptation of The Painted Bird is sure to attract that same level of controversy as the subject matter will definitely not be for everyone, including those who are feint of heart. It already did back at its premiere at last year’s Venice Film Festival in the form of several walkouts. The arguable biographical story of Kosinski (many aspects of the story have since been disputed and even debunked) takes many twists over its nearly 3 hour running time but those who can get past the subject matter will surely be struck by that running time and its repetitive nature. However, these will be easy to forget while enamored by the film’s truly beautiful black and white cinematography.

While the original book takes place in Poland, The Painted Bird goes out of its way to not focus its story in a specific region, taking place somewhere within Eastern Europe. It follows a young Jewish boy (Kotlár) as he traverses the Eastern European countryside and the elements from town to town, trying to survive and find his way back home in the middle of WWII. Over the course of his journey, he came across several different characters, cutting the story into different chapters. The characters may be different but what all these encounters revealed, unsurprisingly, that the world can be a cruel place. That being said, it was definitely a tumultuous time to say the least full of violence and unease without even mentioning the people whose superstitions and traditions left them on edge. Suffice it to say, the boy’s presence wasn’t always welcome as he was generally greeted in a negative fashion.

The boy surely took a a fair share of abuse over the course of the film both physically and verbally but despite the overwhelming negativity he faced (not only towards himself but also others), there were glimpses of hope to be had. However without giving anything away, the former will surely be a moot point for most audiences, making The Painted Bird a hard watch. One can argue that most of it simply amounts to bleakness porn and while those people do have a point, in reality, it is still important to highlight the fact that the suffering inflicted on the Jewish people went beyond concentration camps. In that regard, the film certainly does not hold anything back. The violence may be one thing but that it was only the tip of the depravity iceberg. For the most part, this was a story about survival and the human condition, finding beauty in the little moments amongst a fair share of moments of horror (though the film tended to favor the latter).

Meanwhile, the lack of dialog could make it difficult for some viewers watching a nearly 3 hour film (the film mostly uses a fabricated language that combines local dialects). Instead, The Painted Bird relies on subtlety and visuals to convey emotion and provide details to viewers. While not much may be said (the boy only speaks a few lines in the entire film), the actions on screen still spoke volumes. The film’s repetitive nature comes from its many chapters. Perhaps there didn’t have to be so many but it always felt the story kept moving forward as he continued to experience different cultures and learn different ideologies. Nevertheless, the boy was so compelling to watch as the film pulls viewers in on an intimate level and does not let go. Though his arc over the course of the film, hardened by unthinkable trauma and tragedy was not always easy to watch, it was very powerful nonetheless.

The best part of The Painted Bird easily was Kotlár’s breakthrough performance as the unnamed boy (though he is named by the end of the film). Carrying a nearly 3 hour, dialog light, film is definitely not an easy task for anyone, let alone a young boy in his second feature film. In the end, he carries it with his impressive charisma (which may seem like a contradiction to some) and screen presence, bringing youthfulness, vulnerability, and humanity to a world that was severely lacking it. He would fit the metaphor implied by the film’s title perfectly. The film may be a joint production among several Eastern European countries but a few well-known actors do show up in what pretty much amounted to cameos, however, they all made an impression in what little screen time they had.

At the end of the day, The Painted Bird is not an easy watch to say the least. This powerful film is likely destined to a source of pride for film buffs to watch once and then never again.

still courtesy of IFC Films

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.