Der Maler

The Painter follows the artist/actor as he is struggling and suffering along this process with us watching in joyful despair and what might happen next until the white canvas has turned into a finished painting. The outcome is a one-man rollercoaster that appears to be a documentary but in fact is a staged and guided improvisation with the "real" process happening behind the camera. The Painter is a constant flow of the artist’s journey with elements of farce and comedy topped with emotional moments of truth….in front of and behind the camera and leaving it up to us to decide what is real and/or authentic.
Being one of the most significant, contemporary painters, Albert Oehlen’s approach is complete refusal of the common art circus. In its own way the film reflects this very stance. Likewise, it questions the purpose of obsolete thinking patterns created by white straight male artists of a certain age that have dominated the art world for centuries.

"The famed German painter Albert Oehlen welcomes us to his studio to share his creative process. We see him struggling with the white canvas, muttering about balance, philosophizing about color, and weeping when the canvas "isn’t speaking to him". Finally, the work is finished: an abstract composition like many Oehlen has painted before. Except… the man with the brushes is not Oehlen, but actor Ben Becker, who's playing Oehlen, directed by the artist himself.
Oehlen has built his entire career on challenging assumptions and raising questions, and now he's done it again. As the creator of the work, is Oehlen the author of the painting produced in the film, or is it Becker, who "acts out" reality and executes the idea in this documentary genre bender? And what implications does this have for the aesthetic, financial, and ethical value of the artwork? The interplay between irony and authenticity is sometimes hilarious, and mercilessly undermines the myth of the genius artist."
(IDFA - International Documentary Festival Amsterdam)