Itwasafatefulcoincidencethatin2014,justwhentheAllardPiersonMuseuminAmsterdamwasstaginganexhibitionofCrimeanartworks,Russiaannexedtheregion.Sonowthequestionarisesofwhoshouldtheartworksbereturnedto?TothemuseumsinCrimeawhohadbeensokindastoloanthemout?OrtoUkraine,perhaps,thecountryCrimeabelongedtobeforetheannexation?Whatshouldthemuseum’sdirectorWimHupperetzdo?VeterandocumentaryfilmmakerOekeHoogendijk(TheNewRijksmuseum)isjustthewomanforthejobwhenitcomestoturningthiscomplexissueintoanexcitingfilm,andfindingthehumandimensioninatangledjudicialtug-of-war.Political,emotional,personal,cultural,andhistoricalinterestsalljostleforpositionaslawyersarguingfromapurelyjudicialperspectivepresenttheircaseanddistressedmuseumdirectorsfacebiggapsintheircollections.WhilearchaeologistsinCrimeacontinuetheirgroundbreakinghistoricalwork,itlooksliketheirpreviousfindsaregoingtobere-buriedintheNetherlands—shutofffromtheworldinawarehouse,theyareperhapsthebiggestlosersinthisconflict.
2024-01-30