Lautrec

Though often visually stunning and with a fine sense of period detail, this French language bio lacks the fire and soul it needs. Despite generally excellent acting, Lautrec remains a series of pretty but rarely moving vignettes that ultimately become tedious going.

It is not easy to say why I love it. Sure, the acting is superb, visualy is admirable, the story is fair one, you feel the details as pieces of a vitraille but ...something is missing. A sort of soul of story. Yes, it is far to be perfect - the portrait of Vincent van Gogh is not the most inspired and too simplistic - and, no doubts, it is more than a beautiful film. The spirit of the last part of XIX century is inspired recreated but Lautrec seems like water across the hand of Regis Royer. Splendid work of Anemone.

The story of the painter Toulouse Lautrec starting with his birth and ending with his death. I don't know how accurate it is regarding the actual history but it was highly entertaining and it explains a little some of the painting and his way of being.

Realistic biography of the famous french painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This time, the focus is not on his work or his life at the Moulin Rouge (like in the John Huston's movie of the same title) but on the life of Lautrec himself, espacially his love relation with his model Suzanne (played with great talent by the marvelous Elza Zylberstein). Like in Minnelli's Van Gogh biography (Lust for life, 1957), movie director Planchon makes painting with the camera, especially in the firt hour. The times and the soul of the period (end of the XIXe century) is well respected. Beautiful movie!

I loved this film. I don't know much about the artist, so I can't say how true to his biography the story was, but much of the film looks like one of his paintings. It was a joy to watch. It includes many other known painters of the time. There's a lovely moment where Toulousse admires a painting of a shoe and asks to meet the painter (an intense man who speaks with a dutch accent).

I was living in France when it came out and impatiently awaited it's release and went to see it at the earliest opportunity. I was not disappointed. I really wish I could get a copy here to show to friends.

If you're in Europe I would suggest getting a copy of this movie and bringing it back to the US in a compatible form (DVD) and then showing it to anyone who's interested in the artist or in impressionists or in Parisian follies.