secondtake The Artist and the Model (2012)This is a movie, a poem, about the existence of beauty and meaning in art, and in the life of an artist. in France during WWILThis is an impossible subject for any movie—it demands too much be spelled out. The more obtuse, abstract, and indirect it is the better. Luckily that's where this movie tries to go. Where it fails is when it specifies its ideas. It sometimes states its wisdom. There is another better movie somewhere—not yet made—that could touch these ideas and imbue them with fullness without making it concrete. That one is the masterpiece.In a way the fact I'm talking about this is proof that something happens here. It's a gorgeous, thoughtful movie. The old—very old—sculptor finds a young—very young— model and seems to come to life again. And in his work in these last years he finds something deep and lasting, or seemingly so. The model, in her own naive way, is actually more enriched than he is by all of this, and we see her enlightenment in small ways, even if on some level she doesn't care, not in the way the artist does. But the artist is the center of things here, in a brilliant performance. His work, what they show of it in the movie (I speak as an artist and art historian), is pathetic and weak, and in a way that's an achilles heel here—-his huge inspiration is just another cemetery sculpture, nothing much after all. Maybe that's the hidden intention, but I don't think so. The film is a gorgeous, simple black and white widescreen filming that is perfect for the material. The plot is simple—there are just a couple of interesting interruptions to the model and the artist working and growing together. At the end of the day and the end of life for the old man, it all presses on us as we watch—hence the pathos. One of the stars is the French countryside itself—the olive oil on bread, the light through the trees. In a way it's a poem to a perfect existence, as much as life allows on this small planet.See this? It really depends. It's a patient movie—requiring patience, as well. But it's beautiful and warm. And the acting is excellent. The torch is passed. The war is ending. Hope has some kind of connection to the profound, and the understanding that life is more than just the day's needs.

Tad Pole ... director Joseph Guzman's controversial 2010 consideration of similar themes to those dealt with by Fernando Trueba in THE ARTIST AND THE MODEL, the latter movie tries its best, mixing together nude models, Nazis, and at least one gun key to its plot. A tad more contemplative than the former flick, MODEL centers on multiple love triangles. There's Mr. Artist's one-time nude model, who's aged into a different perspective, and her relationship with her husband's latest unclothed muse. On top of that, there's the pyramid formed by the artist, his most recent Au Naturel poser chick, and the mysterious wounded guy who turns up in the woods. Finally, there's this said sculptor, his Nazi biographer, and the kraut's adjutant--just try to figure out how this trio fits together. With a passel of voyeuristic school kids thrown in for good measure, perhaps Trueba has bitten off more than he chews. I, for one, find his gun violence LESS pleasing than that contained in the NUDE NUNS flick.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "El artista y la modelo" is writer-director Fernando Trueba's newest project and his return to live action after a thoroughly successful trip into the world of animation, which brought him his first Academy Award nomination for "Chico & Rita" two years ago. Almost more impressive is the writer behind "The Artist and the Model": Jean-Claude Carrière won an Oscar 50 years ago, had several nominations afterward and is known to be a longtime companion of Luis Buñuel. Carrière is consequently into his 80s already and same goes for the lead actor here: Jean Rochefort. He plays a sculptor who finds a new model that inspires him to create one more sculpture, possibly his masterpiece.2012 was certainly a huge year for black and white movies in Spain. "Blancanieves" dominated the Goya Awards and "El artista y la modelo" wasn't far behind with nomination in pretty much all the relevant categories, even if it did not win that much. While I'm usually very fond of black-and-white films, the topic of art may be a difficult one for these. It may have hurt the overall result even a bit. You could certainly make a point that it's appropriate for the bleakness of this film taking place during wartime, but still the magnificent colors of the landscape or even the people (especially Aida Folch obviously) could have elevated the film considerably. The movie is very similar to "Renoir", France's most recent Oscar submission for the foreign language category, but as a whole I think I'd prefer "Renoir" and the colors are one main aspect, as is the look at the early years of the young Jean Renoir and his first steps into the movie industry. That's missing here a bit, maybe a second minor plot to keep the audience interested.The ending of "El artista y la modelo" is a difficult one. You'll either love it or hate it. That much is safe. You could certainly argue that it was not really foreseeable and mainly included for shock purposes, but you could also say that predictability can be boring and this way of closing the film certainly wasn't. It's up to you. One parallel that I really enjoyed a lot was the different, yet similar, ways Rochefort's character said goodbye to the soldier and the girl. Both included th pretending of a possibility they'll meet again, which probably never existed. However, both were so different from comparing the characters he said goodbye to and his relation to these that you could certainly analyze them to death.Finally, I'd like to add that the great Claudia Cardinale and Chus Lampreave occasionally added some nice comic relief to the film that was very much appreciated as the film as a whole was very bleak. I was not particularly fond of the inclusion of the girl's boyfriend and I felt it added almost nothing to the story, maybe a slight reference to the war, but that aspect was covered already enough in my opinion with the arrival of Götz Otto's character. Rochefort's character once said in the film. He doesn't care about the war, he just wants to finish a sculpture, which summarizes the movie pretty accurately. The war is the setting, but it's really just the frame and does not play a major role. The center is the artistry.

guy-bellinger Movies like "Belle époque" or "Two Much", directed by Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba, were pleasant but rather shallow. But for some time (particularly since "Chico & Rita" in 2010), Trueba's cinema, while still celebrating woman and her beauty, has become more and more profound, something art lovers will certainly not complain about. Belonging to this vein,"L'artiste et son modèle" ("The Artist and the Model" in the USA), the Spanish director's latest effort, not only displays this newly acquired maturity but it is even downright close to perfection. As a matter of fact the viewers, provided they are not put off by the film's slow contemplative rhythm (but a rhythm there is), will be invited to a fascinating journey into the heart of things, into the essence of life. No less! With "The Artist and the Model", Trueba has not made just another movie, but achieved a real work of art that touches us deeply, building on a very simple but all the more powerful story: Marc, an elderly sculptor living in the heart of nature, far from the madding war (I mean World War II), finds a new muse in the (charming) person of a young Spanish refugee and undertakes the last (and certainly the most important) work of his life. And this is not just another story either, but one told with oozing sincerity and total commitment. Both sensual and philosophical, Marc's last adventure (inspired by the last experiences of Aristide Maillol working with his final muse Diana Vierny) allows Fernando Trueba to examine two themes of utmost importance to him: his love of beauty and particularly of the female body and his love of art (and of sculpture in particular). Another mark of dedication is the emotional tribute he pays to his brother, a famous sculptor who died prematurely in the 1990s. Now at the top of his art, the formerly superficial director has become able to describe life and nothing else, without relying on any easy plot twist or cinematic effect, without the obvious advantages of color (but what a luminous black and white cinematography!), without the support of a musical score (but what an enhancement of the sounds produced by nature, by objects moving, by human voices!). Having, more than one common point with the character he embodies, Jean Rochefort is the right man in the right place. Like the aging sculptor, he is at the end of a long and successful career. Like Mercè's sculpture for Marc, this film could well be the achievement of Rochefort's life time. In any case, the French actor, who lends the old sculptor his own weary and caustic sensibility, is the right man. His female partner, Aida Folch, who plays Mercè, the young model, gives off the right dose of sensuality while managing to make apparent her intelligence and her strong convictions beyond the academic beauty of her body. In the more discreet role of Marc's longtime wife, Claudia Cardinale turns a convincing performance."L'artiste et son modèle" is one of the best films made on the theme of artists at work. Its message is, just like its script, both simple and powerful : "Learn to look at the world around you. Do not be content to give a sweeping, utilitarian look, try to see things and living creatures the way they are, in all their tell-tale details. Just the way Marc teaches Mercè to look at a Rembrandt drawing in one of the most fascinating scenes of the movie. A valuable lesson, both of art and life.