''Van Gogh'' is a 1991 French

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film written and directed by

Maurice Pialat Maurice Pialat (; 31 August 1925 – 11 January 2003) was a French film director, screenwriter and actor known for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films. His work is often described as " realist",

. It stars Jacques Dutronc in the role of Dutch painter

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, for which he won the 1992

César Award for Best Actor This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Actor (french: César du meilleur acteur). History Superlatives Winners 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins and nominations The following indivi ...

. Set in 1890, the film follows the last 67 days of Van Gogh's life and explores his relationships with his brother

Theo Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

, his physician

Paul Gachet Paul-Ferdinand Gachet (30 July 1828 – 9 January 1909) was a French physician most famous for treating the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement ...

(most famous as the subject of Van Gogh's painting '' Portrait of Dr. Gachet''), and the women in his life, including Gachet's daughter, Marguerite. The film was entered into the

1991 Cannes Film Festival The 44th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1991. The Palme d'Or went to ''Barton Fink'' by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. The festival opened with ''Homicide'', directed by David Mamet and closed with ''Thelma & Louise'', directed by Rid ...

, and selected as the French entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

64th Academy Awards The 64th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1991 in the United States and took place on March 30, 1992, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beg ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...

praised the film in a letter to Pialat, in which he wrote: "My dear Maurice, your film is astonishing, totally astonishing; far beyond the cinematic horizon covered up until now by our wretched gaze."

Cast

* Jacques Dutronc as

* Alexandra London as Marguerite (Gachet) *

Bernard Le Coq Bernard Le Coq (born 25 September 1950) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than one hundred and fifty films since 1967. His first big role Bernard Le Coq has played as Annie Girardot's son and Claude Jade's brother in the family dra ...

as Theo van Gogh *

Gérard Séty Gérard Séty (13 December 1922 – 1 February 1998) was a French actor. Partial filmography *'' The Temptation of Barbizon'' (1946) - Le chauffeur (uncredited) *'' Night Warning'' (1946) - Un pilote américain (uncredited) *''Patrie'' (19 ...

as Gachet *

Elsa Zylberstein Elsa Zylberstein (born Elsa Florence Zylbersztejn, 16 October 1968) is a French film, TV, and stage actress. After studying drama, Zylberstein began her film career in 1989, and has appeared in more than 60 films. She won the César Award for Be ...

as Cathy *

Corinne Bourdon __NOTOC__ Corinne may refer to: Places * Corinne, Saskatchewan, Canada, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Oklahoma, United States, an unincorporated community * Corinne, Utah, United States, a town * Corinne, West Virginia, United States, a c ...

as Jo * Leslie Azzoulai as Adeline (as Leslie Azoulai) * Jacques Vidal as Ravoux *

Lise Lamétrie Lise may refer to: People *Eliseo Nicolás Alonso (known as Lise; 1955–2012), Spanish woodcarver and sculptor *Claude Lise (born 1941), French politician from Martinique Given name Lise is a variant of the given name Lisa *Lise de Baissac, Mau ...

as Madame Ravoux * Chantal Barbarit as Madame Chevalier * Claudine Ducret as Piano Teacher * Frédéric Bonpart as La Mouche * Maurice Coussonneau as Chaponval * Didier Barbier as The Idiot * Gilbert Pignol as Gilbert * André Bernot as The Red Mound

Approach to biography

The film is noted for its anti-

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

ticChicago Reader: Van Gogh
/ref> and unsensationalistic approach to Van Gogh's life. For this reason it is often contrasted with

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals '' Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), '' An American in Paris'' (1951), ' ...

's Van Gogh film '' Lust for Life''. Very little time is devoted to Van Gogh's art and work, with the bulk of the 158-minute running time occupied by the artist's often difficult personal relationships and declining mental state. The film omits most references to many of the most famous incidents in Van Gogh's life (including his attempt to cut off his ear in 1888) in favor of concentrating on the social dynamics of the late 19th century. Writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', critic

Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth father. Biography ...

explains: "In the movie, you don't see Van Gogh (Jacques Dutronc) complete the final brush stroke of a masterpiece, then call up old

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fro ...

for a celebratory

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of '' Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historica ...

. You do see a thin, stringy man, suffering from headaches, enjoying whores and moping around irascibly. ''Van Gogh'' denies you familiar highlights, keeps you from his working elbow and avoids the Ear Thing. But it shows you the quotidian stuff in between. This is the story of an artist being human, carrying canvases out or lugging them back in – their famous images intentionally out of sight."

References

External links

* * {{French submission for Academy Awards 1991 films 1991 drama films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s French-language films Biographical films about Vincent van Gogh Films directed by Maurice Pialat Films featuring a Best Actor César Award-winning performance Films set in 1890 Films set in France Films shot in France French biographical drama films StudioCanal films 1990s French films

Cast

Approach to biography

See also

References

External links