Ruben Brandt, Collector (2018)

Directed by: Milorad Krstić | 96 minutes | animation, action | Original voice cast: Iván Kamarás, Gabriella Hámori, Zalán Makranczi, Csaba Márton, Paul Bellantoni, Matt Devere, Katalin Dombi, Henry Grant, Peter Linka, Máté Mészáros, Gábor Nagypál, Virginia Proud

(Adult) animation and art lovers, take note! ‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ should be on your watchlist immediately! Milorad Krstić (Slovenia, 1952) is originally a painter and multimedia artist and is fond of art and films (okay, who doesn’t?). “The world, when painted or viewed through a lens, can be more powerful than reality. Painting and cinema are the most important art forms for me, which is why I based this film on them.” And there’s no denying that: this visually impressive feature debut is bursting with references to film and art. Krstić uses a unique animation style, where his characters seem to have detached themselves from Picasso paintings and move in a world designed by different art movements.

‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ begins mysteriously with a close-up of train tracks and an unexpected user of this piece of infrastructure. We are then introduced to the title character, who falls asleep on the train and is plagued by a horrific nightmare. Ruben Brandt is an award-winning psychotherapist who – as he confides in his voice recorder after waking up from that terrifying dream – has often been troubled by characters from famous paintings who try to kill him in his dreams.

The film continues at full speed when Cleopatra’s fan is stolen from the Louvre. The incredibly agile thief is closely followed by Mike Kowalski, a detective who may have walked straight out of a film noir, but who at the same time is somewhat reminiscent of Vin Diesel. Kowalski chases the thief through the streets of Paris in a wild chase that wouldn’t look out of place in a popular Hollywood blockbuster movie. And in the meantime you have to give your eyes and ears a good meal, because there is so much to see and hear!

Then we haven’t even got to the actual plot of ‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’. Ruben only thinks he can get rid of his increasingly fearful nightmares if he comes into possession of the paintings themselves. After all, this also appears to be a good step towards recovery for his patients. The thief from the previous paragraph comes to his rescue, as do a number of other eccentric patients, such as Bye-Bye Joe, a former bodyguard; Membrano Bruno, a – literally – two-dimensional figure who eats too much and Fernando, a hacker who leaves his signature after every successful burglary attempt. And as Kowalski gets closer to the truth, we follow the inventive club on their criminal journey through famous museums around the world.

‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ is a real pleasure. One viewing is definitely not enough if you want to discover all the details. In addition, the film has one hell of a soundtrack. Story-wise, the film is perhaps just a bit too simple – although the psychological layer manages to hide that nicely. The middle part has a few dips. On the other hand, there is so much visual splendor that we are happy to forgive Krstić. Everything shows that this film was made with an incredible amount of passion and dedication and with endless love and respect for film and art history. Fast-paced action, fun humour, great music and a wonderful visual exploration: ‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ is not to be missed!