Uncovered is a 1994 British thriller film starring Kate Beckinsale. Beckinsale plays an art expert who faces danger after discovering a clue to a 500-year-old murder mystery in a Flemish painting. Directed by Jim McBride, the film is based on a novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte called The Flanders Panel.
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Plot
Julia, an art restorer living in Barcelona, Spain, discovers a painted-over message on a 1471 Flemish masterpiece called La partida de ajedrez (The Chess Game) reading "Qvis Necavit Eqvitem", written in Latin (English: "Who killed the knight?").
With the help of her old friend and father-figure, the flamboyantly homosexual César, who lives at Casa Batlló, and Domenec, a local chess genius Julia found in Park Güell, Julia works to uncover the mystery of a 500-year-old murder. At the same time, however, Julia faces danger of her own, as several people helping her along her search are also murdered.
Cast
Kate Beckinsale as Julia
John Wood as César
Sinéad Cusack as Menchu
Paudge Behan as Domenec
Art Malik as Álvaro
Helen McCrory as Lola
Michael Gough as Don Manuel
Peter Wingfield as Max
Anthony Milner as Inspector
James Villiers as Montegrifo
Reception
Noting that the cast of Uncovered was "an amazing array of BBC regulars", the Reno Gazette-Journal argued that the film "plays in a very over-acted character", but called out Irish actor Paudge Behan as its "bright spot". Video Store Magazine called the film "a clever thriller that blends seemingly unfilmable subjects – art restoration, chess playing – into an intriguing whodunit", saying "Beckinsale is charming and lovely".