Why You Should Watch ‘Loving Vincent’

When it premiered in 2017 Loving Vincent became the world’s first fully painted feature film. Hearing that information alone was enough to inspire me to watch the movie and wow I can not tell you enough to go watch this film. 

The movie was hand oil painted by over 100 painters, accumulating a whopping 66,960 frames. It took four years to complete and the love put into it is clear to see. 

(Image provided via Wall Street Journal)

Loving Vincent follows the life and struggles of famed Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The inspiration for this film came to director, Dorota Kobiela, after reading van Gogh’s personal letters and studying his work. Learning about his story and reading his words sincerely moved Kobiela and motivated her to create a film about his life. 

(Image provided via Empire)

In this film, protagonist Armand Roulin, son of postman Joseph Roulin, was asked by his father to deliver a letter to Vincent’s brother Theo. This letter was Vincent’s last after his tragic death. Theo and Vincent shared a tumultuous relationship throughout their lives, often focused around issues of money. While Roulin travels France looking for Theo, he meets people who knew Vincent. These characters give accounts of their experiences with van Gogh, offering multiple unique perspectives about his life.

Another impressive aspect of this movie is that most of the characters and scenes of the film are based on subjects and landscapes in Vincent’s prolific collection of paintings. His post-Impressionistic and expressive artistic style is also wonderfully modeled.

(Image provided via The Guardian)

What draws me to this film is the pure beauty and attention to detail. Every time I watch it, I notice something new. The level of detail is absolutely staggering—something is always moving. It is a stunning tale of conflict, mortality, friendship, and beauty. The profound emotion of the film and the skillful imaginations of the filmmakers in accurately portraying van Gogh’s works and life is what ultimately makes the movie so striking.

You can stream this film on Hulu or rent it on Amazon Prime Video.

You can also learn more about the process of making the film here.

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