''Nightwatching'' is a 2007 film about the artist
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
and the creation of his 1642 painting ''
The Night Watch
''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' ( nl, De Nachtwacht), i ...
''. The film is directed by
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...
and stars
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most no ...
as Rembrandt, with
Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle (born 1974) is an Irish actress and writer. She is best known for her role in '' Ae Fond Kiss...'' and since 2015 has starred in ''The Last Kingdom''. She won the London Film Critics Circle British or Irish Actress of the Year Aw ...
as his wife
Saskia van Uylenburg
Saskia van Uylenburgh ( fy, Saakje fan Uylenburgh; 2 August 1612 – 14 June 1642) was the wife of painter Rembrandt van Rijn. In the course of her life, she was his model for some of his paintings, drawings and etchings. She was the daug ...
,
Jodhi May
Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...
as his lover
Geertje Dircx
Geertje Dircx (; 1610-1615 – c. 1656) was the lover of Rembrandt van Rijn after the death of his wife Saskia. She was hired as a wetnurse to the painter's son Titus, but lived with Rembrandt as his lover for several years. The relation ...
, and
Emily Holmes
Emily Holmes is a Canadian television and film actress.
She has appeared in such television series as ''Night Visions'', ''Mysterious Ways'', '' The Dead Zone (Chapter 1 and 2 of the first season)'', ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Dark Angel'' and more ...
as his other lover
Hendrickje Stoffels
Hendrickje Stoffels (1626 – 21 July 1663) was the longtime partner of Rembrandt. The couple were unable to marry because of the financial settlement linked to the will of Rembrandt's deceased wife Saskia, but they remained together until Hendri ...
.
Reinier van Brummelen Reinier is the Dutch language, Dutch form of the Germanic name, Germanic masculine given name ''Raginheri'', composed of the two elements ''ragin'' ("advice") and ''heri'' ("army"). It is equivalent to Scandinavian ''Ragnar (disambiguation), Ragnar ...
is the
director of photography
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
.
James Willcock
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
, known for his esoteric sets, is the
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
.
The film is described by co-producer
Jean Labadie
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jean ...
as "a return to the Greenaway of ''
The Draughtsman's Contract
''The Draughtsman's Contract'' is a 1982 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway – his first conventional feature film (following the feature-length mockumentary ''The Falls''). Originally produced for Channel 4, the f ...
''." It features Greenaway's trademark
neoclassical composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
*Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
s and graphic sexuality. The music is by
Włodek Pawlik. The film premiered in competition, at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
.
''Nightwatching'' is the first feature in Greenaway's film series "Dutch Masters". The following film in the series is ''
Goltzius and the Pelican Company
''Goltzius and the Pelican Company'' is a 2012 historical film by writer-director Peter Greenaway.
Plot
The film is based on the life of Hendrik Goltzius, a late 16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints. He seduces the Margrave ...
''.
An associated work by the same director is the documentary film ''
Rembrandt's J'Accuse
''Rembrandt's J'Accuse'' is a 2008 Dutch, German and Finnish documentary film directed by Peter Greenaway about criticism of today's visual illiteracy argued by means of a forensic search of Rembrandt's 1642 painting ''The Night Watch''. Greenawa ...
'' (2008), in which Greenaway addresses 34 "mysteries" associated with the painting, illustrated by scenes from the drama.
Plot
The film is centred on the creation of ''
The Night Watch
''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' ( nl, De Nachtwacht), i ...
'', Rembrandt's most famous work, depicting civilian
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
men who wanted to be celebrated in a group portrait. The film posits a
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
to murder within the
musketeer
A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...
regiment of
Frans Banninck Cocq
Frans Banninck Cocq (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Banning), ''lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam'' (1605–1655) was a burgemeester (mayor), knight and military person of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century. He belonged to the wealthy and powerful ...
and
Willem van Ruytenburch
Willem van Ruytenburch, ''lord of Vlaardingen and Vlaardingen-Ambacht'' (1600–1652) was a member of the Dutch gentry and Amsterdam patriciate of the Dutch Golden Age. He became an alderman of Amsterdam and joined the Schutterij (city guard) o ...
, and suggests that Rembrandt may have immortalized a
conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
using subtle
allegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
in his group portrait of the regiment,
subverting what was to have been a highly prestigious commission for both painter and subject.
The film also depicts Rembrandt's personal life, and suggests he suffered serious consequences in later life as a result of the accusation contained in his most famous painting.
Cast
*
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most no ...
as
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
*
Eva Birthistle
Eva Birthistle (born 1974) is an Irish actress and writer. She is best known for her role in '' Ae Fond Kiss...'' and since 2015 has starred in ''The Last Kingdom''. She won the London Film Critics Circle British or Irish Actress of the Year Aw ...
as
Saskia van Uylenburg
Saskia van Uylenburgh ( fy, Saakje fan Uylenburgh; 2 August 1612 – 14 June 1642) was the wife of painter Rembrandt van Rijn. In the course of her life, she was his model for some of his paintings, drawings and etchings. She was the daug ...
*
Jodhi May
Jodhi Tania May (''née'' Hakim-Edwards; 8 May 1975) is a British actress. She remains the youngest recipient of the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''A World Apart'' (1988). Her other film appearances include ''The Last ...
as
Geertje Dircx
Geertje Dircx (; 1610-1615 – c. 1656) was the lover of Rembrandt van Rijn after the death of his wife Saskia. She was hired as a wetnurse to the painter's son Titus, but lived with Rembrandt as his lover for several years. The relation ...
*
Emily Holmes
Emily Holmes is a Canadian television and film actress.
She has appeared in such television series as ''Night Visions'', ''Mysterious Ways'', '' The Dead Zone (Chapter 1 and 2 of the first season)'', ''Stargate SG-1'', '' Dark Angel'' and more ...
as
Hendrickje Stoffels
Hendrickje Stoffels (1626 – 21 July 1663) was the longtime partner of Rembrandt. The couple were unable to marry because of the financial settlement linked to the will of Rembrandt's deceased wife Saskia, but they remained together until Hendri ...
*
Toby Jones
Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama ''Orlando'' in 1992. He ...
as
Gerard Dou
Gerrit Dou (7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his '' ...
*
Michael Teigen
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
as
Carel Fabritius
Carel Pietersz. Fabritius (; bapt. 27 February 1622 – 12 October 1654) was a Dutch painter. He was a pupil of Rembrandt and worked in his studio in Amsterdam. Fabritius, who was a member of the Delft School, developed his own artistic style ...
*
Agata Buzek as Titia Uylenburgh
*
Natalie Press
Natalie Press (born 15 August 1980) is an English actress. She is known for her performance in the 2004 film ''My Summer of Love'' and a number of short and feature-length Independent film, independent films, including ''Wasp (2003 film), Wasp' ...
as Marieke
*
Fiona O'Shaughnessy
Fiona O'Shaughnessy is an Irish film, stage, and television actress.
Early life
O'Shaughnessy was born in Galway. Her family moved to Reading, Berkshire, when she was 9. She returned to Galway a decade later where she pursued a career in the ...
as Marita
*
Adrian Lukis
Adrian Leonard Fellowes Lukis (born 28 March 1957) is an English actor who has appeared regularly in British television drama since the late 1980s. His most recent notable appearances have been as Sergeant Doug Wright in the police drama ser ...
as
Frans Banninck Cocq
Frans Banninck Cocq (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Banning), ''lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam'' (1605–1655) was a burgemeester (mayor), knight and military person of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century. He belonged to the wealthy and powerful ...
*
Michael Culkin
Michael Culkin (born 2 July 1954) is an English theatre, film, and television actor probably best known for his role as Judge Buller in the BBC drama ''Garrow's Law''. He appeared as Rab Butler in the first two seasons of ''The Crown'', in '' T ...
as Herman Wormskerck
*
Christopher Britton as Rombout Kemp
*
Reimer van Beek as Titus (newborn)
Gallery
File:La ronda de noche, por Rembrandt van Rijn.jpg, ''The Night Watch
''Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'', also known as ''The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'', but commonly referred to as ''The Night Watch'' ( nl, De Nachtwacht), i ...
'' by Rembrandt (1642)
References
External links
*
*
*
2007 films
Films directed by Peter Greenaway
Biographical films about Rembrandt
Films set in the 1640s
Films set in Amsterdam
Films set in the Dutch Golden Age
2000s English-language films
2000s British films
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