Václav Marhoul’s dark odyssey The Painted Bird follows a young orphan boy wandering through an identified Eastern European country in the closing days of World War II. The boy’s episodic adventures are appalling, poignant and defy the idea of human goodness, he looks for food and a place to rest. Udo Kier, the wonderful German actor once dubbed “the most beautiful man on earth” plays The Miller, who takes him in. An out of control domestic event shatters the boy’s illusions of safety and compassion. I spoke with Kier from his home in Palm Springs about his character’s violent intensity.