The film Loving Vincent is unlike any movie I have ever seen. The fact that the entire film is created from paintings is extraordinary. I think of the film itself as a moving Van Gogh painting. Aside from that, Loving Vincent is an animated biography about the life and death of the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh. I use the term “animation” loosely, because although the bright colors and paint seem childlike, the details in the film are not that of a child’s animation. The film takes place one year after Van Gogh’s death. It also includes voices and opinion’s that others had about Van Gogh. With its more depressing tone, it makes me wonder if Vincent was every really happy as a painter.
The film itself has a lot of historical art content. Within the first six minutes we are shown one of Vincent’s famous paintings The Night Café. Although not the original piece, it is sort of an homage to the painting. It shows the café portraited in the painting, but with our protagonist and his father sitting and conversating. And right after that we see our protagonist in the painting Café Terrace at Night. We see this again and again numerous times in the film, mostly because this is the setting at the time. I enjoy that, it is almost like a game I can play. How many Van Gogh paintings can I spot? But, at the same time, I find it difficult for others who are not familiar with his paintings to pick them out. I am more familiar with his work, so I was able to tell others what parts are actual real-life paintings and feel very smart while doing it. But I digress. Another interesting part of the movie is the fluidity of the paintings when they transition from real time to Van Gogh’s past. The way the film does this is whenever a character speaks of past Vincent, all the colors swirl around and lose contact to become black and white. It would be the same as a fade into another scene in regular movies. It all works very well together.
An important topic throughout the film is Van Gogh’s death, although it is similar to a biopic as it discussed his early life and his painting. Up until the point of watching this movie, I only thought Van Gogh had killed himself. This film is different in that it discussed the idea that he was murdered instead of the idea that he killed himself. The characters give their own opinions throughout on which act they think happened. I enjoy this aspect of the film because not only is it giving context about Van Gogh’s life, but it is also giving you the chance to make your own decision on what you think happened. It is like the movie spreads out all of the evidence and gives you many options to choose from. I also think this helps us understand Vincent much better. Past movies all focus on how much of a tormented artist he was. It almost always seems like no one cared about him. For example, Lust for Life is a film made about Van Gogh, and in the film, it shows how his brother Theo constantly gave him money but also heavily supported Vincent. In Loving Vincent, they chose to show how Dr. Gachet told Vincent that his painting expenses are what is killing his brother. This ultimately ended up being, according to the film, the tipping point for Vincent to “take his own life.” That part seemed more like a negative to me, because now I do not know what the real truth is. These films I feel are the reason people see Van Gogh differently. Loving Vincent is more refreshing, as it discussed more than just him being poignant, irrational, or tormented. Instead of portraying him as an angry and foolish man like in Lust for Life, this film gives you a look into more than just that. It really shows just how clearly misunderstood Van Gogh really was.
Overall, this theme in the film is a strong one to me. All the events make you ask questions, like who really supported Vincent? Why did some think that he was crazy? And, finally, did he really kill himself? Loving Vincent truly pulls at one’s heartstrings and make you feel so bad for this depressed painter. It seemed like all Van Gogh wanted was to live a normal life doing what he loved. But this film makes you sympathize with him. This way, whenever you look at his paintings, no longer will you think of how beautiful it is, but more about the struggle Vincent went through to create it. Van Gogh truly felt too much, which can be shown at the end of the film when the letter the protagonist was trying to send all along is read aloud. In it, we hear Van Gogh speak about art and death and how he does not know anything about it. But how the sight of the stars always makes him dream. With all of these details together, the movie is a biopic about Vincent Van Gogh that beautifully represents a different side of him that we had never seen before. Instead of showing Van Gogh as some crazy artist that no one understood nor liked, we see a different type of Vincent. One that cares too much, one who just wanted to enjoy life. Someone who was obsessed with living. He was a person who wanted to reach the stars.
