Soundtrack Review: The Painter and the Thief (2020)

Today Milan Records released the official soundtrack for The Painter and the Thief, with music composed by Uno Helmersson. The Painter and the Thief tells the story of a Czech artist, who, desperate for answers about the theft of her 2 paintings, seeks out and befriends the career criminal who stole them. After inviting her thief to sit for a portrait, the two form an improbable relationship and an inextricable bond that will forever link these lonely souls.

Uno Helmersson is an award-winning Swedish composer and a multi-instrumentalist whose credits include the worldwide hit TV series The Bridge, broadcast in more than 100 territories and for which he was awarded a Golden FIPA. Other major credits include the Emmy winning Armadillo documentary series following a group of Danish soldiers for 6 months in Afghanistan; Magnus, about the life of Norway’s Mozart of Chess directed by Benjamin Ree for Norway’s Moskus Film; Susanne Bier’s A Second Chance, additional score; Mikkei Norgaard’s The Absent One; and Zentropa’s Department Q film series.

Of the soundtrack, composer Uno Helmersson says:

“I am really happy with the music for The Painter and the Thief. I think that it is by all means emphasizing the uniqueness in this beautiful and unexpected story. Working with Benjamin Ree has been a true pleasure. With his enormous trust in the process of creating narration and his trust in my music, we have had a creative collaboration on my music for The Painter and the Thief. This film is truly a piece of art.”

Given that this documentary is about an artist who becomes friends with the thief who stole her paintings, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I sat down to listen to this soundtrack. While I rarely hear a soundtrack I don’t like, I still don’t listen to that many documentary soundtracks. That being said….the music for The Painter and the Thief surprised me in a way I wasn’t expecting. See, for the most part, the soundtrack is what you would expect from a documentary: soft, gentle tones that come across as thoughtful, polite, enough to fill the background but not dominate the action. Then came the track “Finding the Swans” and everything changed. This piece is loud, frenetic, and completely different from the rest of the soundtrack. I’m not sure of the context of this piece but it was a welcome diversion from the norm.

And then there’s “The Exhibition”, the final entry in the soundtrack. I think I may have liked this piece the best, because it literally comes across as the grand finale, complete with organ music. It’s quite the payoff given how quiet most of the soundtrack is.

In conclusion, if you like listening to soundtracks, you will find the music for The Painter and the Thief enjoyable, particularly towards the end. If you’ve never heard the music of Uno Helmersson before, I think this is a fine introduction to his work.

Let me know what you think about The Painter and the Thief (and its soundtrack) in the comments below and have a great day!