United Kingdom, 1936
Directed by Alexander Korda
With Charles Laughton (Rembrandt), Gertrude Lawrence (Geertje), Elsa Lanchester (Hendrickje), John Bryning (Titus), Herbert Lomas (Rembrandt’s father)
Alexander Korda does not shoot a comprehensive biography of Rembrandt Harmeenszoon van Rijn; he just studies his character over three key periods of his life. The film thus starts with the tragic year 1642, when the painter’s beloved wife, Saskia, dies, and his huge work “The Night Watch/The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenhurch” is presented and roundly rejected; this is also the year when the 36-year old gets closer to his maid Geertje.
A second section, by far the film’s longest, spans from the late 1640s to 1663 and focuses on his growing financial problems, which leads to his personal bankruptcy in the 1650s, and his complicated love affairs, as he becomes estranged from Geertje, who cannot accept her being overlooked, and is attracted to another maid, Hendrickje. But death breaks up again his relationship with a woman he deeply loves when illness kills Hendrickje in 1663. The final part describes Rembrandt as he gets older and lacks money but still tries to seize the day despite his problems and to paint, in particular a self-portrait that would be his last painting, in 1669.
The narrative is bookended by scenes inside an inn, with Rembrandt entertaining the patrons with his philosophizing chats; the first copes with women’s beauty, an occasion to marvel at Saskia’s charm which proves to be a poignant ode as the montage clearly hints his wife is dying, while the second leads to considerations on wisdom, centered on the famous words of the Ecclesiastes on vanity, words the character is going to repeat just before the last shot. The scenes finely frames the narrative arc, which follows a deeply satisfied man as he falls from grace and must deals with a long series of difficulties and sorrows till the end, when resignation is the sole sentiment available. They also paint a talkative, expansive and sociable character.
Korda’s Rembrandt enjoys living and has strong opinions, in particular on the need for his painting to capture the human nature as it is, warts and all; hence his contempt for the members of the civil guard, who commissioned “The Night Watch” but now take offense at a peculiar depiction seemingly unconcerned by their rank and prestige, or his hiring of a beggar to be a model for a king, basically because the man has facial features he deems striking. He acknowledges as much at one point: he just cannot paint something different from what he sees. He can become easily stubborn and prides himself too much on his independent mind. This strong-minded and hardheaded personality tends to exasperate his fellow countrymen, from his friends to Geertje, and from his creditors down to the peasants of his native place (who mock him when he claims his own peasant credentials; the incident is linked to his visit to the nearby mill owned by his father; this is by the way a blatant and shocking anachronism, as his father actually died twenty-five years before the apparent time of the sequence).
Actor Charles Laughton gives a high-spirited performance suiting the strong character imagined by the screenwriters. His towering yet tranquil physical presence easily hogs the attention, he tells his beautifully wrought lines with the consummate talent of someone who knows how to charm a friend as well as a crowd and he skillfully conveys the deepest sadness just by casting a glance and freezing his face. His command of the tools of his character’s trade is rather more perfunctory; it seems that describing how such a painter works was less interesting than playing a forceful character grappling with fate.
Korda’s camera shows remarkable flair. His style has slightly expressionistic and Gothic touches, which create unforgettable and inspired images. The most elaborate are set at the end of the first part; they convey how dramatic, deviant and decisive his decision to sleep with Geertje was; as the despondent artist suddenly makes up his mind to follow his maid to her bedroom, gales open and close shutters, sway the candles’ flames and blow away the dust above a furniture on which Rembrandt has just written with his finger Saskia’s name. A quieter effect is set at the very end: just after the last words of the character, the camera focuses on a window and captures in a fast motion the dimming of the daylight and the advance of the night, thus recording the end of another day on Earth, but also the end of a life and simply the end of the film. This is truly a life that cannot escape Fate.
The characters are clearly defined by the tools of the mise en scène. Rembrandt is always shot on the move; he never lingers alone for long and the montage shows how willingly he meets a crowd, however hostile. Tenderness suffuses the shots and reverse shots putting him face to face with Hendrickje (played with charm by Elsa Lanchester), thanks to both acting and lighting, emphasizing the strong feelings he has for her, while compositions and the intense performance of Gertrude Lawrence show Geertje as a practical woman who wanted to give Rembrandt love and support and whom he did need at one point, a relationship based on convenience and bound to break up bitterly. The film, despite its inaccuracies, is a visually powerful and compelling portrait of Rembrandt as a fascinating and passionate character struggling with his life.