“Your Loving Vincent”

Loving Vincent is a love letter from director Dorota Kobiela to the late great artist Vincent van Gogh. It is an animated detective story that takes place a short time after the artist’s death. The protagonist, Armond Roulin, is assigned the job of delivering one final letter to van Gogh’s brother, Theo. Along the way, he investigates what would drive the man to take his own life or the possibility that maybe someone else did. The plot is interesting but it is not what makes this movie such a work of art in its own right.

Normally, this post would be included under Currently Watching. What qualifies it for The Canvas is that the film looks and feels like Vincent van Gogh’s art. A team of 125 painters worked together to create “the world’s first fully painted feature film.” Each frame of the movie was painted by hand to recreate van Gogh’s style. The film is a love affair between the paintings and technology. After Effects, Photoshop, and 3-D technology are used to create Dorota Kobiela vision.

Van Gogh failed at so many things in his life — he failed at four careers while he was still in his 20s, but he kept going even with all the sadness he felt in his heart,” says Dorota Kobiela, writer/director of the animated feature “Loving Vincent.” “And that moved me, I think, to keep going with this film even though it was a 10-year journey.” –Variety

This film doesn’t try to recreate Van Gogh’s life, but in trying to recreate his art, it succeeds in representing the artist in a way that a biopic cannot. The film ultimately allows us to see the world the way that he did. For a short period of time, we can catch a glimpse of his vision and genius. I recommend you to go to Lincoln Plaza Cinemas to witness this one of a kind film.

–Brayan