The works of Vincent Van Gogh have enchanted audiences for over 100 years. His compositions have a beguiling and mysterious aura that captivates a wide audience. Vibrant, flaming colour is transferred through bold, decisive brushstrokes onto a canvas. Under the direction of filmmakers Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman a new kind of biopic arises Loving Vincent a film that utilises over 65,000 painted frames from over 100 artists who are skilled in the painting style of Van Gogh. The artists transform many of Van Gogh’s notable works and create contemporary works to produce a hypnotising motion picture. A range of characters that were in Van Gogh’s life were included in the film, they were portrayed by actors and repainted.
Loving Vincent tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh’s final weeks through the perspectives of the village people in the town of Auvers-sur-Oise in France. Armand Roulin, the son of Joseph Roulin; Vincent’s postmaster instructs his son to deliver a letter from the late Vincent addressed to his brother Theo. Armand does not find any reason in delivering “A dead man’s letter” and reluctantly travels to Paris and then to Auvers-sur-Oise in Northern France in search for Theo.
Armand begins an investigation, in an attempt to solve the mysterious death of Vincent. He speaks to the towns people whom Vincent painted or lived amongst throughout his life and hears personal anecdotes and town gossip, a combination that delivers contradicting memories and stories. The legend of Vincent Van Gogh remembers him as a struggling, tormented and suicidal artist who throughout his entire life was misunderstood and his brilliance was not recognised in his time.
The film conveys the beauty and brilliance of Van Gogh’s artworks and chose to present the positive aspects of his personality, however, they did not shy away from revealing his mental issues and specifically his manic depression which justified the dismemberment of his external ear, in a notorious psychotic episode. The presence rather than the physical appearance of Vincent is more common as the story takes place a year after his death. This adds a further layer of mystery and arouses curiosity in Armand on his search to find the truth.
Vincent’s creative ability was astonishing and is recreated beautifully in the film. Painted with a contemporary eye Vincent’s story is reinvigorated for a modern audience. Loving Vincent is a visual masterpiece and is such a memorable experience to view in a cinema. Where ever the story may lack, it is overcompensated by charm, individuality and overwhelming beauty.
