Loving Vincent

Last night we were telling Ally and Jennifer about the immersive Van Gogh exhibition at the Atelier de Lumiere, and All mentioned a film that he had heard about, using the art of Van Gogh, called Loving Vincent. We found it on Netflix and had a look at it, and ended up being so fascinated that we watched the whole thing. It was released in 2017, and is an animated film about the last months in the life of Van Gogh. What is unusual about it is the way it has been animated. The directors commissioned a team of more that 100 artists to paint oil paintings on canvas in the style of Van Gogh, and based on many of his paintings. The actors were filmed performing in front of a green screen, and then the artists would paint over them. As a result the actors (some of whom were very well known, like Helen McCrory or Aiden Turner) were very recognisable, and the animations also had a distinct look of the real people that Van Gogh had painted. The real paintings were displayed at the end as the credits rolled. The overall result was like a moving Van Gogh painting, and it was very effective. Apparently it took four years to complete which does seem a bit over the top! However it is a beautiful film to watch.