Around the third hour or so of “The Painted Bird,” a grueling, pristinely photographed compendium of wartime horrors, the camera unexpectedly alights on a small, precious act of human decency. A ...

Adapted from Jerzy Kosiński’s novel, “The Painted Bird” comes to life through Vàclav Marhoul’s lens. Shot in black and white, the film tells the story of The Boy as he wanders around Eastern European ...