The Eyes of Van Gogh

The "Eyes of Van Gogh" was a captivating and depressing portrayal of Van Gogh's final days. I always viewed Van Gogh as an excellent artist with a slightly disturbing life. I clearly did not understood neither the full extent of his despair. From the beginning, it's very clear that Van Gogh is captive to his dark, depressing hallucinations caused by a difficult and lonely life. In fact, it seems as if Van Gogh's life was just one disappointment after another. Friendless, loveless, and entirely dependent upon his brother for living, Van Gogh was not the successful artist that I always imagined him to be. One cannot help but feel sorry for a man whose parents blamed him for the death of his brother, whose true love cruelly rejected him, and whose beautiful paintings were ridiculed by the artistic elite. Such rejection and cruelty would drive anyone crazy.

The drab scenery and music were key to setting the overall tragic setting of this movie. Also, the confusion experienced deciphering actual events from make-believe ones helps one to understand Van Gogh's delirium during his days in the Insane Asylum. It is very fitting that Van Gogh dies soon after he is forbidden from the one activity that brings him joy, painting. The viewer is left with the impression that without art, Van Gogh really had nothing left to live for.

I was truly astonished to see what can be accomplished with a low budget combined with obvious passion and commitment. I have always been a great fan of Roy Thinnes and was delighted to be able to see him again. There have been a couple of films about van Gogh. This one, I believe, captures him more truly and believably than any other I have seen. His torment is palpable and fully understandable. This film is about what happens when extraordinary people are for whatever reason unable to fully realize all of their potential. And yet, despite all, they must persevere. An outstanding performance by Alexander Barnett, who also wrote the screenplay.

History tells us that Van Gogh, like many artists, was a very intense and troubled personality. Barnett takes us into the heart and mind of the man in a way that causes us to empathize afresh with his feelings and struggles. Barnett the film-maker deliberately refrains from any cutting from one camera to another, enhancing the viewer's being drawn into the world as viewed from Van Gogh's perspective. The score is also effective in painting an aural picture of what is going on inside the artist's mind. In this film we see Van Gogh, not just as a troubled soul, but as a sensitive and caring person who never quite found the way to break free of the demons from his past that haunted him up to the end of his life. Barnett's portrayal of Van Gogh is both believable and engaging. Despite the film's length of almost two hours, it holds the viewer's attention and moves the heart.

The legend of Van Gogh haunts the ages. What, we wonder, was behind those images. What did Vincent SEE??? The Eyes of Van Gogh will take you there - if you can learn to "paint the air".

Van Gogh wanted to push art beyond visual reality. He wanted to paint the air that we could sense but not see. He wanted to paint emotion. But his insanity stole reality from him. He couldn't tell what was real and what was a distortion of real. He fought the distortion with all his strength. He tried to capture reality by surrounding it with color. The distortions fought back, stealing his art equipment, surrounding him with darkness.

Alexander Barnett will take you into this fight - I said, take YOU INTO this fight. It's as close to insanity as you'll ever want to get.

AR

Some movies are entertaining. Others are an experience. Alexander Barnett's Van Gogh biopic definitely falls into the latter category. Far from "guilty pleasure" fare, "The Eyes of Van Gogh" is a skillful and passionate portrayal of a talented yet tortured artist. This movie will educate you about the world of this struggling genius, even as it compels you to feel compassion for Van Gogh in his sad state. Competition, debt, insanity, rejection--all of these themes swirl Vincent's reality much like the colors in his paintings...you'll be relieved to view reality for yourself again at the end. But if you let it, the movie may remind you of all you have to be grateful for, and even challenge you to look at your own life through slightly different eyes.