The Last Vermeer

Forgive this man, found guilty here of collaboration with the enemy.

May God have mercy on your soul.

Amen.

Attention!

Make ready! Aim!

Fire!

- Has it arrived? Is it here? - Last night.

- Jerome, good work on those etchings. - I aim to please.

There's a gift on your desk. Cherries for the family.

I'll try not to eat them before I get home this time. Thank you.

A Dutch Jew with a Canadian uniform.

Captain. Captain Piller.

Who let this one in?

Dekker, this is Minna. Minna, this is Dekker.

- Hello, Minna. Nice to meet you. - Hello.

We used to be in the Resistance together.

Yeah, but he couldn't resist anything without me.

- Working with the Allies now. - Yes.

Everything in here was stolen,

and they put me in charge of finding out who took it

and who sold it to the Nazis.

But I want to avoid interference from the Ministry of Justice

'cause they seem to have their own agenda, and that's why I need you.

I need someone I can trust.

Well, anything for an old friend. But do I have to wear a uniform?

Oh, yeah, it's one of the perks.

This was just found in Göring's hidden collection.

Christ and the Adulteress. It's a Vermeer.

- Vermeer! - And... we found a letter.

Folded in the crate.

I attended a show there once,

had champagne and smoked salmon,

and saw some terrible paintings.

And what Germans did you meet there?

I shook a hand or two.

Those pigs were everywhere. You couldn't avoid them.

I never had that problem.

No, me neither.

I'm a personal friend of Prince Bernhard

and the commander of the Ministry of Justice.

That's very good for you,

but I don't work for the Dutch government who ran off when things got hot.

Dekker, will you please go sit down?

I was commissioned by the Allied Command.

Who will soon relinquish power to the rightful Dutch government.

But not today.

And the more time I waste on you,

the Nazi sympathizers you drank champagne with will slip away.

I'm afraid I must ask you to...

In this letter, the owner of the Goudstikker Gallery

references you in verifying the background of a Vermeer painting...

I don't collect art.

...before Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring agreed to buy it.

Christ and the Adulteress was just recovered from a railway car

in an Austrian salt mine.

Thing about Göring...

he kept meticulous records of all his acquisitions.

So, now, tell me about this letter.

It was a favor.

I had a respectable name.

I simply wrote that I'd vouch for the painting's provenance

to finalize the sale.

Because the painting had been stolen from Jews?

Who was the favor for?

Who brought you the painting?

Han Van Meegeren.

Han Van Meegeren?

Indeed.

I'm Captain Joseph Piller of the Allied Provisional Government.

- Please, come in, gentlemen. - Thank you.

Were you expecting us?

In these times, one expects anything.

Do you play?

No, not anymore.

- May I offer you a drink? - Yes.

No, thanks.

No?

Do you live here all by yourself?

For the time being. I am recently divorced.

This is my wife's house now.

She is in France, and the housekeeper went back to Utrecht.

The war has been good to you, huh?

I was lucky enough to sell a series of Flemish primitives

before hostilities broke out.

So, you're an art dealer?

I am a painter and an art lover.

But, of course, I take my opportunities where I can.

And during the war, what did you do?

Tried to survive, like everybody else.

Running out of champagne must have been devastating.

Oh, not as bad as running out of caviar. Shall we sit?

No, no, we're taking a walk.

Do I need a jacket?

You haven't asked why I'm here.

Well, I find that in life, as in art,

it's always best not to spoil the surprise.

Or maybe it's no surprise at all.

Shall we?

- Do you like Johannes Vermeer? - Of course.

The equal of Rembrandt, superior to Hals,

and only a hair behind Michelangelo and da Vinci.

And this one, Christ and the Adulteress.

How does that rate?

Undoubtedly a masterpiece.

It has his hallmark command of light and color

and yet with a gravitas absent from his more celebrated work.

You take interest in art as well as music?

Oh, no, no, no.

What interests me is that it was sold to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring

for more than 1.5 million guilders,

which is the largest sum ever paid for a work of art.

Which proves that pigs can sometimes have taste.

Or perhaps too much money.

I've traced the sale back to the Goudstikker Gallery,

through a network of your associates, to you.

I need to know where this Vermeer came from.

Was it from a looted collection? Jews trying to flee Europe?

Mr. Van Meegeren, as you know,

collaboration with the enemy is a capital offense.

They're shooting people in the streets daily.

We all must die sometime.

Although Vermeer, Hals, Bosch, they live forever.

They speak to us across the centuries.

But you're not among those names, are you...

Mr. Van Meegeren?

So, you must have made your fortune some other way.

And what, may I ask, will be your great legacy, Captain Piller?

Putting you and your friends in jail.

Or in a noose.

This is your chance at redemption

and perhaps, more importantly, survival.

And yet I am sensing that perhaps it is you who needs redemption, no?

Put him in solitary.

Single rations. No visitors.

- Finn, want to help me? - Sure, Papa.

- Take these. - Okay.

And they go into these.

Only I can paint the picture that you so desperately want to see.

And what is it that I so desperately want to see?

You want justice against the wicked, yes?

So, you're going to need me.

But I ask a favor. I need my paints. I need my brushes.

- Please, send me home... - I'll have them brought here.

There is no life here, no inspiration.

Do you want inspiration?

What do you need inspiration for if I break your hands?

Piller?

I'm Detective De Klerks.

Ministry of Justice. Long time.

I've heard you snagged a big fish, a Van Meegeren. Is that right?

- Who told you? - Jungle drum, you know.

We need to question him.

We're on the same team. We need to share information.

Are we on the same team?

Last time I handed over a lead, he somehow slipped away.

The old boys' network.

Perhaps they should rename your outfit the Ministry of Convenient Justice.

You and me, we're just foot soldiers.

We don't have to worry about the big picture.

I see. Well, keep your attention on your feet, then.

Excuse me. What were you before the war?

A tailor, right?

I've been a police investigator for 15 years,

and this could be bigger than some paintings.

This Van Meegeren may have helped fund the Abwehr spy ring,

laundering money for the Nazis.

Even more reason your department should stay away from this.

All this bluster and confidence, Piller,

it's a pretty good mask, but you're in over your head here.

Yeah. And you know it.

Actually, I don't need your permission to see Van Meegeren.

I was just being courteous.

This is a joint jurisdiction facility,

and I have a signed order here from the Dutch government

granting me your fish.

So, in fact, we'll take it from here.

Ministry of Justice.

Boys.

Dekker? Dekker!

Get him out.

- Time for exercise. Come on. - What?

- Come on. - Come on.

Get him out of there.

This way.

Hey!

Piller!

Not that I didn't enjoy it, but what the hell did we just do?

De Klerks wants him, but no one takes my fish.

Your fish? How flattering.

Very beautiful, Joe.

Yes.

Well, splendid. I can definitely paint in here.

As long as you're happy...

I'll make a list of my supplies.

My assistant, Cootje, knows where everything is in my studio.

And I'm going to need my whiskey.

I'll get your paints. Forget about the whiskey.

And, please, don't play games with me.

Mr. Dekker here has my permission to break both your legs

if you try and escape.