Title: Loving Vincent
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director:  Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman
Starring: Douglas Booth, Eleanor Tomlinson, Saoirse Ronan
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

What It Is: This film takes place just a short time after the death of the tortured Belgian artist Vincent Van Gogh (Robert Gulaczyk). When the son of a letter carrier is tasked with delivering letters to Vincent’s brother in Paris he’ll uncover clues about the day the now famous artist died from a first-hand account of the various Parisian residents he dealt with in his last days. What he’ll find are the true depth of Vincent’s loneliness and depression.

What We Think: An absolutely stunning and gorgeous piece of original cinema. Where a film like A Scanner Darkly or Waking Life explored rotoscoping in all its glory here we have actual oil paintings rotoscoped atop these living actors. And where those Linklater pieces used heavy black as a border here the film is given the touch of Van Gogh all in his signature style.The story is good enough but it’s the visuals that really just pop. You can see the performance through the oil and most of those were pretty good as well. Particularly Douglas Booth does a great job here.

Our Grade: B+, I very much enjoyed being in this oil painted world. I am going to recommend this one highly. I expect to see it nominated for all manner of golden statues and it has a Golden Globe nomination under its fancy French belt already. This film looks like it was a labor of love for some very VERY talented people. That I found the narrative enough to chew on was sufficient enough for me. Go into this one with an open mind. Its an animated film but not in any way that we as an audience would find conventional. That perhaps is its biggest flaw and greatest strength.