(JTA) — The graphic depictions of violence in a Holocaust film proved to be more than some could handle at the Venice Film Festival.
Several viewers walked out of a screening of “The Painted Bird,” which describes devastation in Eastern Europe as seen by a boy who may be Jewish or Roma. The movie is based on a 1965 book by Jerzy Kosinski.
The black-and-white film, which has received positive reviews, has the boy witnessing incest, bestiality, rape, mutilation and murder. Directed by the Czech director Vaclav Marhoul, “The Painted Bird” stars Harvey Keitel and Stellan Skarsgard.
Xan Brooks, a critic for the Guardian, wrote that some shocked viewers among the 14 he saw leaving felt their way frantically in the dark to get away from the dark theater.
In one scene, a boy’s pet ferret is burned alive. In another, a boy is buried alive as famished ravens peck away at his bald scalp.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
