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Münter and Kandinsky - The Blue Rider

Artist biopics are few and far between these days. Mr. Turner in 2014 and Daaaaaali! in 2023 come to mind as relatively recent examples, and Van Gogh and Picasso are always popular subjects. This German production, directed by TV stalwart Marcus O. Rosenmüller, looks at the life of Expressionist maestro, Wassily Kandinsky, but crucially, via the perspective of his lover and ex-student, Gabriele Münter.

The film starts and ends with her and Vanessa Loibl gives the character a vivid intensity. We see Münter's dissatisfaction with the lot of women in turn of the century Munich. She wants to study and practice her art and so is chuffed when she hears of a studio called the Phalanx, where women are allowed to attend. This is where she meets the intense Kandinsky, a lecturer at the college.

After some visible romantic tension, a painting excursion to picturesque Kochel brings them together. Post coitus, Kandinsky tells Münter that he wants her to leave the trip early as his wife is coming the next day. Charmer. And so begins their on-again, off-again relationship.

The pair develop their artistic techniques while maintaining this frustrating partnership. There's an intimation that Kandinsky (Vladimir Burlakov) begrudges Münter's skill and later, individual success at exhibitions, and this might go some way to explaining his reluctance to commit to marriage.

An important stage in both their lives was the formation of the Blue Rider group (important enough to make the title). Here they meet the equally talented Franz Marc, who, just quietly, deserves a biopic of his own. The dynamic of these artists shows just how fractious shit can get amongst geniuses.

The film is daubed with amazingly artistic cinematography, probably a given for this kind of film. Namche Okon delivers in some gorgeous landscapes, specifically around the town of Murnau, where Münter and Kandinsky bought a house (now a museum).

It's occasionally slow going and I'd have liked a bit more on the Nazi appropriation of 'degenerate art' many years after the main events. All in all though, the idea of focussing on Münter as the central protagonist shines a light on women artists of the time and in doing so, offers a fresh viewpoint on the artist biopic sub-genre.

Münter and Kandinsky - The Blue Rider is screening at the German Film Festival around Australia (in Perth at Palace and Luna cinemas).

See also:

Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner (2014) is a fine film and Peter Webber's Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) has its moments too.

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