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The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (1978)

Director: Raúl Ruiz

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From Time Out Film Guide

For anyone sceptical about the big claims made for Ruiz, this is the film to see. It's the equivalent of a vintage Ken Russell arts psycho-doc, commissioned by French TV as a study of the philosopher, novelist (and high-class pornographer) Pierre Klossowski. The result is more like a haunted-house occult whodunit in suspended animation. A bumbling collector of pictures takes us on a guided tour of his Tonnerre collection - not the canvases, but their weird compositions re-enacted as tableaux vivants in a mansion and its gardens. Between his far-fetched interpretations of these pictures (mythological subjects with relevance to the society of the day), an enigma takes shape that can only be explained through 'the hypothesis...etc'. A tale of mystery and imagination that gives new meaning to the phrase 'intellectual thriller'. This is the real thing.

Author: IC 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Raúl Ruiz

Producer: Nedjma Ouichene

Cast: Jean Rougeul, Gabriel Gascon, Chantal Paley, Jean Raynaud, Daniel Grimm full cast

Duration: 66 mins


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