The 36th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) kicked off on Thursday, January 2, with its Opening Night and its widely acclaimed *Talking Pictures program.
This review is for the movie “AUCTION;” an intriguing French drama, which I saw at the Annenberg Theatre (at the Palm Springs Art Museum) but there are a few more upcoming showings at the Camelot Theatre.
Image courtesy of PSIFF.
I’ve always been intrigued by live auctions. The adrenaline in the room is contagious. So far, I’ve only been to one live auction because I don’t want to run the risk of raising my hand again.
But really; I’m more intrigued by how art collectors know, or trust, why certain works of art are worth so much money. We’re not talking thousands, we’re talking millions. You must have a trained eye. Then again, how do they determine the worth of a certain painting? That was what got me to this movie. The idea that a lost masterpiece from 1939, from an artist I’ve never heard of, was re-discovered in recent years in the home of a young man who inherited the home from his deceased grandfather.
The young man noticed the painting in a book, so decided to contact a hotshot dealer to have the piece evaluated. André Masson, specialist in modern art, receives a letter according to which a painting by Egon Schiele had been discovered in Mulhouse, France.
Of course not being familiar with Schiele, I Googled him. Of Austrian descent, he was known as an expressionist painter. It also noted that he was incestuously attracted to his sister Gerti, to the great consternation of their father (which makes sense, although father went on to die of syphilis himself). At age 16, Schiele took Gerti, then 12, by train to Trieste and spent the night with her.
What a lovely story. Kidding of course. A lot of artists of that era were tragic figures.
The painting in this film is slightly along the lines of Van Gogh Sunflowers, if the sunflowers are on their way out. It’s a dark painting with sad flowers -maybe alluding to how the artist himself felt at the time.
I also didn’t know that certain paintings were referred to as “degenerates” by the Germans during WWII. The looted ones which they did not deem worthy were either destroyed or given to families who they considered lower class. I’m guessing that is how the grandfather ended up with the painting in the first place.
This thrilling French drama (with English subtitles),directed by Pascal Bonitzer, is filled with deceit, surprises, double dealings and a few little things that don’t make complete sense. But it is very interesting and always good to learn something new…or old in the world of Art. Overall I enjoyed it very much.
The Fesival is on until January 13th. For tickets:
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
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