Drop Everything and See "Loving Vincent"

I'm not a movie person. I go to the movie theater once or twice a year on average, watch the DVDs that Trevor get as gifts, and occasionally rent movies from the library. I rarely know what is playing in the theater, and odds are good that even if I do know what's playing, I haven't seen it and probably never will. I say all that to emphasize how unusual it is for me to recommend a movie.

I vaguely recalled hearing about "Loving Vincent" when it came out in theaters, I believe on NPR. I was fascinated by the concept of an entirely hand-painted movie. And then I promptly forgot all about it until I came across a list of the best movies of 2017. I put a library hold on the DVD. And then I promptly forgot all about it again, until I got a message from the library saying my hold was in.

Loving Vincent (affiliate link)

I loved it. "Loving Vincent" is more beautiful than I'd imagined. While the plot is excellent and reason enough to see the movie, it was the artwork that kept me mesmerized and the primary reason I'm recommending it to you. The color, the visible brushstrokes, the detail - everything came together perfectly. I tried to imagine how much time it would take to create the paintings to animate one small movement and it blew my mind. My absolute favorite part of the movie was the end credits, where Van Gogh's actual paintings of the characters in the movie were shown side-by-side with the paintings done for the movie. How amazing to see Van Gogh's paintings come to life the way they did, and such a clever way to do the credits. 

This brief video about the making of "Loving Vincent" will give you a better idea of what went into this movie - 125 artists, almost 66,000 paintings, 12 frames per second, and a commitment to stay true to Van Gogh's style, even as it changed across his paintings.

If you saw "Loving Vincent" I'd love to hear what you thought. And if you haven't seen it yet, I hope I've inspired you to do so!