''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 ''

'', 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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ''

'' 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 {{bio-film-stub