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Reviews
Beltracchi - Die Kunst der Fälschung (2014)
Lost translation, Found Wit and Color
Beltracchi's journey is what some will deem despicable and others like myself will look at with awe. Birkenstock has captured Wolfgang and Helene Beltracchi's rise and fall of undermining the art world with poise. The film follows the couple through their estate, dinner parties with friends, and old rounds of gathering supplies, reminiscent of the days before their arrest. The victims of the Beltracchi's are visited and recall their time acquiring one of his forgeries. The movie is subtitled as it is mainly in German, but also features some French and English. Although the story is told clearly by Wolfgang, Helen, and others involved in his master scheme, in the translation the attention to small details like the emotions Wolfgang felt painting at the same place as many artists of the Fauvist movement are lost. That set aside, Birkenstock makes sure to let both sides have their say in terms of the ethics behind forgery. One theme is carried throughout—Wolfgang is not sorry and it's up to the viewer to agree or not.