At Eternity’s Gate 2018

     Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh goes to Aries and Auvers-Sur-Oise, France for self-imposed exile.  While he is there, he develops his unique, colorful style of painting.  Also, he is working through his feelings about religion, mental illness and his chaotic friendship with French artist Paul Gauguin.  Vincent begins to focus on his relationship with eternity rather than thinking about the pain his art causes him at this time in his life.  Other people don’t seem to see nature the same way that he does?  They don’t seem to understand his paintings and his style?  Some think his work is ugly?   

     Van Gogh believes paintings should be done quickly with heavy strokes of paint.  Paul Gauguin believes just the opposite.  Paintings should be done slowly, with much thought and less paint.  Their relationship begins to sour and Gauguin announces that he will soon depart.  This news is crushing to Vincent and he feels an artistic allegiance to Gauguin.  Vincent spends time in hospitals and mental hospitals.  He is released from a mental hospital after a talk with a sympathetic supervising pastor.  He goes to Auvers-Sur-Oise near Paris to paint and draw local landscapes.  I thought this was good and very interesting.  This film really gives insights into this time period and way of life.  It also shows that Van Gogh’s work was not for the people at this date but for a later age.  Somehow, Van Gogh knew this and this knowledge kept him going despite his critics.  4* (I really liked this movie)     

           

111 min, Bio directed by Julian Schnabel with Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac, Mads Mikkelsen, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Niels Arestrup, Anne Consigny, Amirea Casar, Vincent Perez, Lolita Chammah, Stells Schnabel, Vladimir Consigny, Arthur Jacquin.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 80% critic 61% audience, Metacritic 76 out of 100 with 34 critics 6.9 out of 10 with 61 user scores, Slant Magazine 2* out of 4* Greg Cwik, EmpireOnline 4* out of 5* Ian Freer, RollingStone 4* out of 5* Peter Travers, The Guardian 3* out of 5* Wendy Ide, Amazon 3.7* out of 5* with 118 reviews. 

Special Note:  Filmed in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhone and Auvers-sure-Oise, Vad-d’Oizse, France.  The only Best Actor Oscar nominated performance of the year in a film not nominated for Best Picture.  Willem Dafoe is the second actor to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for playing Vincent Van Gogh.  Kirk Douglas played Van Gogh in Lust for Life 1956.  Dafoe was born William but changed his name to Willem.  This is the Dutch version of the name.  Van Gogh is Dutch.  Mads Mikkelsen and Mathieu Amalric have both played Bond villains in films with Daniel Craig as Bond.  Three actors in this film have also played Marvel Comics villains.  Dafoe as Green Goblin, Isaac as Apocalypse and Mikkelsen as Kaecilius.  Dafoe was 62 when this film was released, 25 years older than Van Gogh who died at age 37.  There is controversy over Van Gogh’s bullet in his stomach wound?  It was assumed that he shot himself but he could have been accidentally shot by a friend’s 16-year-old brother?