FILM 6: Rembrandt/Greenaway

Peter Greenaway is a respected British film director who originally started out as a painter. He has made 12 films and over 50 documentaries. He is an established film maker throughout the world and has a good reputation for the work he has done. We should definitely believe his stories because of the success he has had and the evidence he developed in the film. His knowledge covers a wide range of topics and time periods, which is evident in his work.

Greenaway chooses to discuss the image, “Nightwatch,” by Rembrandt. Greenaway suggests that the painting represents murder and conspiracy. Throughout the film, he sheds light on the mysteries of the painting and what evidence there is of murder. He was very effective in describing this painting. He knew exactly what aspects of the artwork would lead to different events in the time period and went into detail about them. The multitude of evidence he presented definitely got the job of convincing his audience done. I think he decided to only talk about this painting because there is so much to it. It is not a painting that can be described in a couple minutes. There are so many aspects such as the lighting, 34 characters, expressions, historical context and background, that an entire film needed to be dedicated to this piece of art.

The location used in this film was Amsterdam. Greenaway chose this because it is where the setting of the painting takes place. This was the most effective because it gave insight to the culture and time period of the painting.

Greenaway chose to use theatrical reenactments because it let the viewer get inside the painting and the time period. I really liked this film because of the reenactments. I think it helped me understand exactly what was going on and the reasons behind different aspects of the painting, such as the interview with Rembrandt’s wife or the height difference between the two men in the artwork. I liked the dramatic way in which the painting came to life and how Greenaway went into detail through the reenactments. This was definitely his most effective strategy, in my opinion. For someone who does not know a lot about paintings and artists, I thought it was helpful to get his point across and also give me a better look into the meaning of the painting.

What was your favorite part of the film?