Mastering (2017)

Directed by: Charlotte Sieling | 94 minutes | drama | Actors: Jakob Oftebro, Ane Dahl Torp, Søren Malling, Søren Pilmark, Sus Wilkins, Anna Linhartová, Thomas Hwan, Jana Krausová, Jessica Dinnage, Simon Bennebjerg, Marie-Lydie Melone Nokouda, Elias Bauer, Evrim Benli

The fine arts remain a rewarding subject for documentary or feature film. In 2017 we already saw biographies about Rodin (‘Rodin’) and Giacometti (‘Final Portrait’) and a stimulating satire about the modern art world (‘The Square’). Also from 2017 comes the Danish film ‘Mesteren’, a drama about an artist and his son. No biography this time and no satire either. But what is ‘Mastering’ then?

The master (master) from the title is called Simon Brahe. He is a widely respected artist who lives and works in Copenhagen. In his studio he works on his art with students, while his second wife Darling runs the empire. Everything is going smoothly, until one day Casper is standing at the door of the studio. Casper is Simon’s out-of-picture son from his first marriage. It soon becomes apparent that Casper has at least as much talent as his father. That creates tensions.

‘Mesteren’ is a generational drama, where a father has to accept that sooner or later every generation has to pass the baton. That this takes place in the self-righteous and vain world of art seems like a smart move. Unfortunately, Simon lives up to all the clichés of the arrived artist. He always walks around in trendy pajamas and sees the world through glasses that are much too fluent. He uses a pretty student as a mistress, and he looks more like a businessman than a passionate artist.

What lies beneath that layer is less clear, any more than it becomes clear to us what possesses his son Casper. Wife Darling comes closest to having a fully developed character, but she’s just a little less interesting. The art world itself is never well presented here either. The film lacks the broad scope, depth and satirical sharpness of ‘The Square’. Narrative, there is not much to be gained, moreover, some scenes are too focused on effect and lack any logic.

All in all, ‘Mesteren’ is not a great contribution to the artist film canon. The actors are all excellent, there is some nice music and the studio looks attractive and authentic. In addition, we learn that you can’t just smoke before or after sex. But a film without a good story, in-depth characters or successful humor is missing too much in this case. Art with a small k then.