Rembrandt's J'Accuse

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Alfred B Peter Greenaway's 2008 film J'accuse is a bizarre and indulgent exercise in cinematic hubris. It is less a documentary than a pseudo-intellectual fever dream, where the director’s pet theory about Rembrandt's The Night Watch is elevated to a fact of historical record through sheer force of will. The film's core argument—that Rembrandt encoded messages of a conspiracy and murder into his masterpiece to exact revenge on his patrons—is a prime example of morbid curiosity spun into a feature-length production. It's a fantasy built on a foundation of shaky inferences, dressed up with the trappings of a serious art history lecture. A 21st-Century Melodrama with Historical Anger The film's tone is a jarring mix of high-minded academic lecture and overwrought 21st-century melodrama. Greenaway, a visually oriented director, uses a barrage of special effects, split-screens, and dramatic re-enactments (featuring the cast from his companion film, Nightwatching) to animate his theory. The result is a spectacle of hysterical historical anger directed at dead people. He's not simply analyzing a painting; he's prosecuting a cold case from 17th-century Amsterdam, summoning the ghosts of long-dead oligarchs to accuse them of a crime that exists only in his imagination. This anachronistic fury, with its "CSI"-style forensic analysis of a 300-year-old painting, is a bizarre and ultimately unconvincing spectacle. A Heavy Budget, Small Return, and Confusing Morality It's hard not to wonder about the economics behind this project. With a hefty movie budget that allowed for dramatic re-enactments and sophisticated visual effects, the film's financial return was small, given its limited distribution and niche audience. This begs the question: who finances these things? The answer likely lies with a combination of European film funds and art-house investors willing to take a risk on a celebrated, if commercially unsuccessful, director's passion project. The film's confusing morality is equally baffling. Greenaway's central premise frames Rembrandt's actions as a righteous act of revenge against corrupt figures who had not sufficiently funded him after the initial commission. This turns the artist into a vengeful vigilante, not because he was a victim of injustice, but because of a lack of continued patronage. It’s a strange and selfish motive, blurring the lines between artistic expression and a petty, personal vendetta. The idea that an artist would jeopardize his career and livelihood by burying coded messages of murder in a high-profile commission because his patrons didn't continue to pay him is a self-serving and deeply cynical notion. It reduces the creative process to a simple transaction of money and revenge, ignoring the complex realities of art, commerce, and human relationships. Ultimately, the film's elaborate visual style and dramatic flair can't mask the flimsy, speculative nature of its core argument, leaving the viewer to wonder if they've just witnessed a work of art history or a work of narcissistic fiction. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/25 Full Review Gabriel K A companion piece to Peter Greenway's Nightwatching, it's a fascinating documentary that clears up the events depicted in a movie quite a bit. The director uses an unconventional narrative, sometimes using the actors from the movie as "witnesses" to tell the story. I can't speak as to whether or not the conspiracy theory holds water, but as a movie, it's a captivating watch. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/16/12 Full Review Fredrik S A great kombination of art history lesson and conspiracy theory and probably my favorite of Greenaway's more recent films. I realize that I probably would have liked to see this before Nightwatching, as I would have understod more of that film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/05/12 Full Review Paul C Peter Greenway's companion documentary to his excellent Rembrandt pic "Nightwatching". It feels more like an extended extra/promo for that film than a stand-alone piece. Well-done, but too much of it feels like Greenway is pulling the "evidence" out of thin air. It comes across as a bit self-indulgent at times, as well, with an inset of Greenway's talking head obscuring parts of the very painting he is discussing. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/12 Full Review Gregory C this is fascinating. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/09/11 Full Review Gregory W awesome doc/bio-pic about the dutch painting master Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/05/11 Full Review Read all reviews

Rembrandt's J'Accuse

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