Loving Vincent
{{short description|2017 animated biographical drama film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Loving Vincent
| image = Loving Vincent.png
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = {{ubl|Dorota Kobiela|Hugh Welchman}}
| producer = {{ubl|Hugh Welchman|Ivan Mactaggart|Sean M. Bobbitt}}
| writer = {{ubl|Dorota Kobiela|Hugh Welchman|Jacek Dehnel}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
- Robert Gulaczyk
- Douglas Booth
- Jerome Flynn
- Saoirse Ronan
- Helen McCrory
- Chris O'Dowd
- John Sessions
- Eleanor Tomlinson
- Aidan Turner
}}
| music = Clint Mansell
| cinematography = Tristan Oliver
Łukasz Żal
| editing = {{ubl|Dorota Kobiela|Justyna Wierszynska}}
| studio = {{ubl|BreakThru Films|Trademark Films}}
| distributor = {{ubl|Altitude Film Distribution {{small|(United Kingdom)}}|Next Film {{small|(Poland)}}{{cite web |url=https://lovingvincent.com/loving-vincent-is-released-in-poland-canada-and-vietnam,286,pl.html |title=Loving Vincent is Released in Poland, Canada and Vietnam |website=Loving Vincent |access-date=19 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210144456/http://lovingvincent.com/loving-vincent-is-released-in-poland-canada-and-vietnam,286,pl.html |archive-date=10 February 2018 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2017|06|12|Annecy|ref1={{cite web|last1=Mayorga|first1=Emilio|title='Loving Vincent' Gets Standing Ovation at Annecy|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/loving-vincent-gets-standing-o-at-annecy-1202466277/|date=14 June 2017|work=Variety|access-date=7 September 2017}}|2017|9|22|United States|2017|10|06|Poland|ref2=|2017|10|13|United Kingdom|ref3={{cite web|url=http://altitudefilment.com/film/distribution/68/loving-vincent|title=Loving Vincent|work=Altitude|access-date=18 August 2017}}}}
| runtime = 95 minutes{{cite web|title=Loving Vincent (12A)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFV355507|website=British Board of Film Classification|access-date=30 August 2017}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
| country = {{Plainlist|
- Poland
- United Kingdom
}}
| language = English
| budget = $5.5 million{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/06/27/loving-vincent-van-gogh-goes-to-hollywood/| title=Van Gogh, a new film and a tantalising question: was Vincent murdered? | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=27 June 2016| access-date=3 July 2017}}
| gross = $42.1 million{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Loving-Vincent#tab=summary|title=Loving Vincent (2017) |work= The Numbers |access-date=21 April 2018}}
}}
Loving Vincent is a 2017 experimental animated historical drama film about the life of the painter Vincent van Gogh, in particular the circumstances of his death. It is the first fully painted animated feature film.{{cite news |first=Fiona |last=Macdonald |title=Loving Vincent: The film made entirely of oil paintings |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20171016-loving-vincent-the-film-made-entirely-of-oil-paintings |work=BBC |date=16 October 2017 |access-date=21 October 2017}}{{cite magazine |author= |date=September 2019 |title=Łukasz Żal – Lumière Award and Honorary Fellowship |magazine=The RPS Journal |volume=159 |issue=9 |publisher=Royal Photographic Society |location=Bristol |pages=614–620 |issn=1468-8670}} The film, written and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, is a Polish-UK co-production, funded by the Polish Film Institute, and partially through a Kickstarter campaign.{{cite web | url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/02/29/the_trailer_for_loving_vincent_a_vincent_van_gogh_movie_animated_with_oil.html | title=Watch the Mesmerizing Trailer for a Movie About Van Gogh Fully Animated From Oil Paintings | work=Slate | date=29 February 2016 | access-date=2 March 2016}}
First conceived as a seven-minute short film in 2008, Loving Vincent was realized by Dorota Kobiela, a painter herself, after studying the techniques and the artist's story through his letters.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailycal.org/2017/09/28/loving-vincent-dorota-kobiela/|title=An interview with 'Loving Vincent' director Dorota Kobiela|date=2017-09-28|work=The Daily Californian|access-date=2018-01-17|language=en-US}}
With an additional use of rotoscoping animation, each of the film's 65,000 frames is an oil painting on canvas, created using the same techniques as Van Gogh by a team of 125 artists drawn from around the globe.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-37707160 | title=How do you paint 65,000 pictures like Van Gogh? | work=BBC | date=29 October 2016 | access-date=2 December 2016}} The film premiered at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. It won Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 30th European Film Awards in Berlin and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards. The film marked Helen McCrory's final film role before her death in April 2021.{{Cite web|title=Helen McCrory death: Actor dies from cancer, aged 52|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/helen-mccrory-death-damian-lewis-b1832776.html|access-date=January 23, 2022|website=The Independent|date=16 April 2021 }}
Plot
One year after Vincent van Gogh's suicide, postman Joseph Roulin asks his son Armand to deliver Van Gogh's last letter to his brother, Theo. Roulin finds the death suspicious, as merely weeks earlier Van Gogh claimed through letters that his mood was calm and normal. Armand reluctantly agrees and heads for Paris.
Père Tanguy, a Montmartre art supplier, tells Armand that Theo actually died six months after Vincent. He suggests that Armand travel to Auvers-sur-Oise and look for Dr. Paul Gachet, who housed Van Gogh after his release from an asylum, shared his love for art, and attended the funeral. Once there, Armand learns that the doctor is out on business. So he stays at the same inn that Van Gogh did during his time in the area. There he meets the temporary proprietress Adeline Ravoux, who was fond of Van Gogh and also surprised by his death. At her suggestion, Armand visits the local boatman, who informs him that Van Gogh kept close company with Dr. Gachet's sheltered daughter, Marguerite. When Armand visits her, Marguerite denies and is angered when Armand implies that Van Gogh's suicidal mood could have resulted from an argument with her father.
Throughout the investigation, Armand begins to suspect a local boy named René Secretan, who reportedly liked to torment Van Gogh, owned a gun, and had often drunkenly brandished it around town. Dr. Mazery, who examined Van Gogh, also claims that the shot must have come from a few feet away, ruling out suicide. When Armand implicates René, Marguerite confesses that she was in close, but not romantic, relations with Van Gogh, but she does not believe that René was capable of murder.
Dr. Gachet finally returns and promises to deliver Armand's letter to Theo's widow. He admits there was an argument between them – Van Gogh accused Gachet of being a coward for not pursuing his dreams, to which Gachet angrily accused Van Gogh of worsening Theo's health by overly depending on his brother. Gachet posits that this accusation drove Van Gogh to suicide in order to release Theo from the burden. After Armand returns home, postman Roulin later receives word from Theo's widow, Johanna, thanking Armand for returning the letter. Johanna attaches to her letter to Armand one of Van Gogh's letters to her – signed, "Your loving Vincent."
Cast
File:Avp La Passion Van Gogh.jpg (left).]]
The leading cast is as follows:{{cite news|last=Waring |first=Olivia |url=http://metro.co.uk/2016/03/23/this-animated-van-gogh-movie-rendered-entirely-in-paint-looks-unbelievably-stunning-5771097/ |title=This animated Van Gogh movie rendered entirely in paint looks unbelievably stunning |work=Metro |date=23 March 2016 |access-date=4 August 2016}}{{cite web |date=4 April 2016 |title='Loving Vincent' Starring Vincent van Gogh |url=https://fashionindustrybroadcast.com/2016/04/04/loving-vincent-starring-vincent-van-gough/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129081540/https://fashionindustrybroadcast.com/2016/04/04/loving-vincent-starring-vincent-van-gough/ |archive-date=2022-11-29 |access-date=4 August 2016 |website=Fashion Industry Broadcast}}
{{castlist|
- Robert Gulaczyk as Vincent van Gogh
- Douglas Booth as Armand Roulin
- Jerome Flynn as Paul Gachet
- Saoirse Ronan as Marguerite Gachet
- Helen McCrory as Louise Chevalier
- Chris O'Dowd as Postman Joseph Roulin
- John Sessions as Père Tanguy
- Eleanor Tomlinson as Adeline Ravoux
- Aidan Turner as Boatman
- James Greene as Old Man
- Bill Thomas as Dr. Mazery
- Martin Herdman as Gendarme Rigaumon
- Robin Hodges as Lieutenant Milliet
- Josh Burdett as the Zouave
- Holly Earl as La Mousmé
- Graham Pavey as Mr Ravoux
- Joe Stuckey as Idiot Boy
- Piotr Pamula as Paul Gauguin
- Cezary Lukaszewicz as Theo van Gogh
- Marcin Sosinski as René Secretan
}}
Production
The filmmakers chose classically trained painters over traditional animators because, as Welchman said later, he wanted to avoid artists with "personalised styles" and employ people who were "very pure oil painters" instead. A total of 125 painters from over 20 countries traveled to Poland to work on the project following selection from around 5,000 applicants, many of whom responded to an online "recruitment teaser". The number of participants was greater than originally envisaged, which meant that due to difficulties in obtaining funding the task had to be completed in a correspondingly shorter period of time.{{cite web |last1=Vollenbroek |first1=Tunde |date=25 April 2017 |title='Loving Vincent': 6 Facts About The First Oil Painted Animated Feature |url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/loving-vincent-6-facts-first-oil-painted-animated-feature-150443.html |access-date=26 October 2017 |website=Cartoon Brew}}{{Cite news |last=Berendt |first=Joanna |date=2016-07-08 |title=Animating van Gogh's Life With 62,450 Oil Paintings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/movies/animating-life-of-vincent-van-gogh-in-loving-vincent.html |access-date=2023-02-11 |issn=0362-4331}}
The creation of the film storyboard was informed by Van Gogh's paintings, sometimes with only minor alterations to the latter, but on occasions more complex transformations involving changes to the weather or time of day were carried out. Since artists typically painted over frames once they had been photographed, only 1,000 of the total 65,000 paintings produced during the course of the project survived.
The film uses a form of rotoscoping. Production for the film began with a live-action cast filming against a green screen. After filming, editors composited Van Gogh's paintings into scene backgrounds and finally cut the film together as usual. However, once the actual film was complete, they shot each individual frame onto a blank canvas, and artists painted over each image. In all the project took 6 years to complete, and in describing the laborious process involved Welchman noted that the film's creators had "definitely without a doubt invented the slowest form of filmmaking ever devised in 120 years."{{cite news |date=21 October 2017 |title="Loving Vincent" Van Gogh: How the world's first hand-painted film was made |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/loving-vincent-entirely-hand-painted-film-about-vincent-van-goghs-life/ |access-date=10 August 2018}}
Reception
=Box office=
The movie is considered a box office success, grossing over an estimated $42.1 million (in USD) worldwide on a budget of $5.5 million, with United States earnings totaling $6.7 million. The film has most notably grossed $3 million in South Korea, $2.1 million in Italy, and $10.8 million in China.{{cite web|last1=Hopewell|first1=John|title='Loving Vincent' Passes $20 Million at Worldwide Box Office|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/global/loving-vincent-passes-20-million-worldwide-box-office-1202635407/|website=Variety|date=10 December 2017 |access-date=11 December 2017}}
=Critical response=
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's critical consensus states, "Loving Vincent{{'}}s dazzling visual achievements make this Van Gogh biopic well worth seeking out – even if its narrative is far less effectively composed."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/loving_vincent|title=Loving Vincent (2017)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date|df=dmy}}}}{{RT data|edit}} Metacritic reports a score of 62 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/loving-vincent|title=Loving Vincent Reviews|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=Metacritic|access-date=14 November 2017}}
A. O. Scott, writing for The New York Times, found the visual aspects of the film to be innovative, stating: "the viewer also becomes accustomed to the images, and astonishment at the film's innovative, painstaking technique begins to fade. But its charm never quite wears off, for reasons summed up in the title."{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |date=2017-09-21 |title=Review: 'Loving Vincent' Paints van Gogh in His Own Images |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/movies/loving-vincent-review-van-gogh.html |access-date=2023-02-11 |issn=0362-4331}} Actress Angourie Rice had similar sentiments, writing in an essay that “it was such a fascinating experience to witness the actors’ performances turned into Van Gogh style paintings. The great thing about this film is that it also made me question what the merging of art forms meant for art, film, and everything in between.”{{cite web|url=https://thoughtstokeepmesane.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/loving-vincent/|title=Loving Vincent|last=Rice|first=Angourie|date=20 January 2018|website=Thoughts to Keep Me Sane|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820173036/https://thoughtstokeepmesane.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/loving-vincent/|archive-date=2018-08-20}}
Giuseppe Sedia of the Krakow Post praised the impressive visual style of the movie. However, he added, "In their concern to keep the viewers interested, directors Kobiela and Welchman have built an over-narrated and spirit-dampening movie in which the preponderance of the dialogues hinders the viewers’ immersion into the violent beauty and materiality of Van Gogh’s oeuvre".{{Cite news|author= Sedia, Giuseppe|date=15 October 2017|title=Kino Mania: Loving Vincent (2017)|url= http://www.krakowpost.com/18287/2017/10/kino-mania-loving-vincent-2017|work=Krakow Post|access-date=11 December 2018}}
Awards and accolades
The film won the "Most Popular International Feature" award at the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival.{{cite press release |url=http://archive.viff.org/e-blasts/viff/2017/PR/18_VIFFAudienceAwards_PR.html |title=Indian Horse Wins Coveted VIFF Super Channel People's Choice Award |publisher=Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society |date=13 October 2017 |access-date=15 October 2017}} It was nominated in the Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2017{{cite web |last= |first= |date=24 October 2017 |title=Hollywood Music in Media Awards Announces Nominees in Film, TV, & Video Game Music |url=https://www.shootonline.com/spw/hollywood-music-media-awards-announces-nominees-film-tv-video-game-music |access-date=26 October 2017 |website=Shoot Online}} for Best Original Score in an Animated Film. It won the Audience Award at the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival{{cite web |title=Loving Vincent |url=https://www.annecy.org/festival:en/awards/film-index-award-winner:film-20172848 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204231611/https://www.annecy.org/festival:en/awards/film-index-award-winner:film-20172848 |archive-date=2019-02-04 |website=www.annecy.org}} and the Golden Goblet for Best Animation Film at the Shanghai International Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.siff.com/a/2017-06-25/1930.html|title=Winners Of 20th Golden Goblet Awards|website=siff.com|access-date=2 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029235358/http://www.siff.com/a/2017-06-25/1930.html|archive-date=29 October 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}
It won the XII Festival de Cine Inédito de Mérida (FCIM) after obtaining the highest score among the projected films and also the highest score obtained in the history of the event.{{cite web|url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/3197262/0/loving-vincent-gana-xii-festival-cine-inedito-merida-con-mayor-puntuacion-historia-certamen/|title='Loving Vincent' gana el XII Festival de Cine Inédito de Mérida con la mayor puntuación de la historia del certamen|date=25 November 2017|website=20minutos.es|language=es}} On 9 December 2017, the film won Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 30th European Film Awards in Berlin.{{cite news |title=Loving Vincent |work=European Film Awards |url=https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/film/loving-vincent.9588 |access-date=20 April 2023}} The film also received Best Animated Feature nominations at both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.{{Cite web |title=2018 {{!}} Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2018 |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=www.oscars.org |date=15 April 2019 |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.lovingvincent.com/}}
- {{IMDb title|3262342}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|loving_vincent}}
- [http://lovingvincentpainters.com/ Loving Vincent Painters]
{{Vincent van Gogh}}
{{European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film}}
{{Golden Eagle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Golden Goblet Award for Best Animation Film}}
{{authority control|state=expanded}}
Category:2017 independent films
Category:2010s avant-garde and experimental films
Category:Films about Vincent van Gogh
Category:British avant-garde and experimental films
Category:British independent films
Category:Cultural depictions of painters
Category:Animated films set in the 1890s
Category:Films set in the Netherlands
Category:Golden Eagle Award (Russia) for Best Foreign Language Film winners
Category:Kickstarter-funded films
Category:English-language Polish films
Category:Polish adult animated films
Category:Polish avant-garde and experimental films
Category:Polish independent films
Category:Animated historical films
Category:Films scored by Clint Mansell
Category:2010s English-language films
Category:British adult animated films
Category:Animated films set in Europe
Category:European Film Awards winners (films)
Category:Films about letters (message)
Category:English-language independent films