Guy Pearce plays snotty Han Van Meegeren, a self-proclaimed master forger who managed to sell a fake Vermeer nonetheless to the despicable Herman Göring, war criminal and notorious thief of works of art.
In a bid to acquire a better collection than Hitler himself, Göring actually paid for this canvas, also because he couldn't have stolen it, being presented by Van Meegeren as a private possession unknown to the world of fine arts at large.
At the end of the war, Van Meeger ended up in trouble as a collaborationist and managed to escape capital punishment only by proving he was a forger.
The movie is largely fictional and about the Jewish Captain Joseph Piller pursuing Van Meegerer first and then protecting him so that he could prove the Vermeer was a fake.
The movie is well made and entertaining, despite the fictional liberties it takes, but after all, it is not a documentary.
In a bid to acquire a better collection than Hitler himself, Göring actually paid for this canvas, also because he couldn't have stolen it, being presented by Van Meegeren as a private possession unknown to the world of fine arts at large.
At the end of the war, Van Meeger ended up in trouble as a collaborationist and managed to escape capital punishment only by proving he was a forger.
The movie is largely fictional and about the Jewish Captain Joseph Piller pursuing Van Meegerer first and then protecting him so that he could prove the Vermeer was a fake.
The movie is well made and entertaining, despite the fictional liberties it takes, but after all, it is not a documentary.