Vincent Van Gogh was never understood in his lifetime. Ignored, tormented, harassed, Mr. Van Gogh would paint his worries and feelings away. An impressionist from Holland, Van Gogh was born March 30, 1853, son of a well-known pastor. Wanting to pursue a career in religion like his father, Van Gogh became a pastor. When that did not work out, he tried many other jobs, none of them working out. He spent most of his life trying to find his place, as everywhere he went, he felt misunderstood. That is when he picked up the paint brush and created some of humanity’s greatest artworks of all time.
The film Loving Vincent is a Polish- American film that details the events one year after Van Gogh’s apparent suicide. Postman Joseph Roulin (as seen in Van Gogh’s painting “The Roulin Family”) asks his son Armand to deliver Van Gogh’s last letter to his brother, Theo. Along Armnad’s journey to Auvers-sur-Oise, France to deliver the letter, he finds out Theo passed away six months after his older brother, and that he should deliver the letter elsewhere. Through the people he meets, Armand begins to suspect that Van Gogh did not end his own life, but something more sinister had happened. Armand meets Dr. Gachet, a man who sheltered and helped Van Gogh seek asylum as he wished for a quite place to paint. From this, he eventually concludes that Van Gogh did not kill himself but was murdered by a young boy named René Secretan who owned the same gun Van Gogh was shot with. René would continuously torment Van Gogh over and over until one day he just shot him. At the end of the film, Dr. Gachet promises to return the letter to Theo’s late wife.
Personally, I think this movie is an absolute masterpiece. I do not think the writers, directors, cinematographers, animators, and everyone else involved in the making of this fully oil painted film could have done a better job. It is the world’s first fully painted feature film and has won many awards due to that, and I think they deserved each one.
The soundtrack to this film is another aspect that makes it even the more enjoyable. It is just so breathtaking, as it perfectly fits the mood of Vincent’s life. All of the songs seem to be based off one another, as if they are in the same tune or something of the sort, but they each have their own story that goes along with each scene from the movie, i.e. “Starry Night Over the Rhone” and Portrait Of Armand Roulin”. It is not depressing enough for it to affect your mood, as it is quite pleasant while playing in the background as you get work done, but also not so happy and delightful where it will boost your mood. It gives off a dreamy and light atmosphere. It makes you wonder about Van Gogh’s life.
Even though it is quite depressing, as it is trying to deliver a letter from that of a dead man, only to find out the receiver is also dead, the animations make it… less depressing and almost more uplifting. The art comes with the philosophy that even after death, things can still be beautiful. That death is not as dark as we all think it is. This is the first animation that I have ever seen that made my heart rise to my throat. And when I say animation, you might be thinking I mean like a childish Disney movie or something like Japanese Anime, but this entire movie, with the help of over 100 painters, is painted in oil to look like Van Gogh created it himself. It looks so surreal to see his work come to life, some might say even an honour.
The film also concentrates on how unhappy Van Gogh was throughout his entire life. All he wanted was a place to call home and people he could be open with and would accept him for who he is. And this film also includes the help that he sought out. He did not enjoy being unhappy and did not romanticize it. He longed for love and a wife and children but because of how “unique” or “odd” he was, no one wanted to be around him. He had no supporters in his life besides Theo, which makes everything even more heartbreaking. You begin to resonate with Van Gogh, and realize the way he tried to love himself and love the world was through his art. He just wanted to help people and spread peace, but no one could see that at the time (or even wanted to, in a sense).
People who saw his work thought it was horrible and too “abstract.” They would question why the lights and stars in the paintings had rings around them, or why the scales of measurement were off, why were they not to scale as in real life (such as in “Bedroom in Arles”). No one wanted to see through his eyes, but he wanted to see through everyone’s. From the way he piled paint onto the canvas, to the way he used perspective, to the colours he decided to use. The 100 painters followed Van Gogh’s lead and used odd measurements and odd colours and put rings around lights, just as Van Gogh did 100 years ago.
I simply cannot emphasize enough how beautiful this film is. I think everyone who is able should go and view it, as nothing this incredible will ever be created again.
