‘Lost Leonardo’ unpeels the mysteries of the Salvator Mundi

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Salvator Mundi, a painting of Jesus Christ attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, has been enveloped in mystery and intrigue ever since it was first acquired, restored and celebrated as a lost original of the Renaissance master. “The Lost Leonardo,” which Sony Pictures Classics releases in theaters Friday, engrossingly frames the entire, unlikely saga like an international thriller as opaque as any John Le Carré novel. To its director, the Danish filmmaker Andreas Koefoed, it’s also a kind of dark fairy tale, complete with a prince and a lost treasure. Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is believed to be behind its record-setting 2017 purchase of $450 million.