The Colors of the Devil (1997)

The Colors of the Devil (1997) 

This movie is a modern version of the Faust legend, with the hero, Nicolas, 

a young painter who accepts the help of a mysterious stranger, Bellisle, who 

promises to provide him with the inspiration that will turn him into a success. 

This consists of bringing the painter into contact with real-life experiences 

of death in various forms, and it works - Nicolas's morbid paintings of violent 

death attract a following and soon he is a commercial success. But it soon becomes 

clear that Bellisle is not merely maneuvering Nicolas into a position where he can 

witness tragedies that were bound to happen anyway; he is in some way setting up 

the situations that his protegé will use for inspiration, and eventually Nicolas 

himself becomes drawn into the crimes as a protagonist. It's not perfectly clear 

who Bellisle actually is; another painter, also one of Bellisle's clients, tells 

Nicolas that he doesn't really exist. Is he the devil, or is he somehow Nicolas's 

ambition, embodied as an amoral, conscienceless force, using and using up everyone 

around him as fuel for his insatiable appetite for fame and success? (NV)