Auction

Summary

André Masson is a respected Parisian auctioneer and an expert in modern art, but his professional standing has begun to lose its shine. His routine is disrupted when he receives a letter reporting the discovery of a painting by Egon Schiele in a house in Mulhouse. The work appears to be the same one that vanished in 1939, just before the upheavals of World War II. What initially seems like an extraordinary opportunity quickly becomes a demanding investigation, forcing André to establish the painting’s authenticity, trace its ownership history, and determine what really happened to it during the war. As he travels between the art world, the family connected to the painting, and the people who may have uncovered it, André is joined by younger colleagues whose perspectives challenge his practiced certainty. His professional allies, rivals, and associates all have something at stake: money, reputation, historical recognition, or a chance to correct an old injustice. The discovery also brings André into contact with the human consequences behind a prestigious object, turning an apparent auction triumph into a morally complicated case. Directed by Pascal Bonitzer, Auction is both an art-world drama and a thoughtful inquiry into provenance, restitution, and the legacy of Nazi-era looting. The film examines the uneasy relationship between culture and commerce, asking whether a work of art can ever be separated from the circumstances of its disappearance—or from the lives affected by it. André’s investigation becomes as much a test of conscience as of expertise, while the restrained, character-driven storytelling leaves room for questions about ownership, memory, and the responsibility to confront the past.