Seventy minutes of incomparable beauty. From the script that seeks to plumb the depths of the mysterious works of the Van Eyck brothers to the cinematography, this painting lesson from Belgian filmmakers Jérôme Laffont and Joachim Thôme is nothing short of miraculous.

Playing with elements of framing and mise en abyme, alternating between interviews and the unveiling of the famous altarpiece, the film explores the layers of meaning in a 15th-century work of art that ignited a kind of revolution in artistic perspective, on the same scale as animation or works in 3-D. The film’s subtle and magnificent style of capturing images, as well as its captivating and intelligent commentary, plunge us into an examination of how reality is perceived. For the first time in art history, viewers no longer saw religious figures, but ordinary humans: wingless angels, musicians whose brows furrowed with effort as they sang, frank facial expressions, beings imbued with life, depicted at nearly life size. Through the multitude of these realistic details, these Middle Age viewers experienced the shock of seeing real life depicted in art. The Temptation of Reality is a must-see for anyone who appreciates music, art, or—simply—grace.

Jennifer Alleyn
Filmmaker