A labour of love that has taken nearly seven years to finish, Loving Vincent raises the bar, and then some, for animation filmmakers.
Using scores of artists who painstakingly hand-painted (in oils) every frame of their picture, co-directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman piece together the final years of the 19th-century Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh.
The film explores the possible reasons behind van Gogh’s alleged suicide in 1890, through a series of interviews with acquaintances and models for his portraits.
Adopting a fictionalised detective story approach, it brings to life the artist’s work, from his earliest efforts to his beguiling later canvases.
Expect to be enveloped in a sensory bath of vibrant colours as the unconventional biopic interpolates brightly hued animation over live-action footage of actors.
From the ensemble cast, Douglas Booth as the young man tasked with delivering the last letter Vincent wrote to his brother Theo, and Robert Gulaczy as the titular protagonist, are standouts.
Delineating van Gogh’s complex relationships and lifelong yearning for personal and artistic acceptance (only one of his over 900 paintings sold during his lifetime), Loving Vincent is a one-of-a-kind triumph.