I have recently watched a few films dedicated to honoring the memory of Vincent van Gogh. Usually they focus on the last couple of tragic years of his life. They tend to offer different versions of the famously violent events. Did he commit suicide? Was he killed in a scuffle with ruffrians? What I like about this rather sober production is that it focuses much more on the artist´s oeuvre, offering a panoramic tour of his early, middle and late works. The art historians who provide detailed information about quite a few specific paintings and drawings are very knowledgeable and often make reference to the more than 800 extant letters written by or to van Gogh and preserved in archives. This is very helpful in arriving at, if not a completely accurate, at least a coherent picture of what may have transpired. I cannot say that this effort is entertaining per se, but it certainly is interesting and informative and I greatly prefer this production over the sensationalist and speculative (and in some cases schmaltzy) approaches of recently launched ¨quasi-biopic¨ fictionalized movies about van Gogh.
PS: I found this film, broken up into five parts, on Kanopy.
PS: I found this film, broken up into five parts, on Kanopy.
