If you can dream it, you can animate it, even a high-calorie surrealist heist picture. Milorad Krstic’s “Ruben Brandt, Collector,” a propulsive lark as choreographed as a trapeze act, runs with the blissful freedom higher-budget feature animated work has exulted in for decades, and on a giddy plane that could not possibly be realized as live action. Ruben Brandt is a psychotherapist who hopes to escape nightmares he’s had since a child: his task is to steal thirteen canvases with a band of fellow brigands from the citadels of art: the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, the Louvre… The price on his head escalates by millions and tens of millions as Brandt skirts a hopping and bopping neo-noir globe. Eager to please, snazzily imagined, “Ruben Brandt” (Rubens meets Rembrandt) is a whipsmart joy. With the voices of Iván Kamarás, Gabriella Hámori, Csaba Márton. 94m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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