Maurice Piala: Portrait of van Gogh in a rural interior What do you know about Van Gogh? That he was a famous artist, lived in poverty and sold only one painting, was friends with Gauguin and cut off his ear. Probably, at least this compact set of superficial knowledge about this genius and ends. Hollywood thirst for life with Kirk Douglas only reinforces these stereotypes. Collectively, they only distance us from the universe of genius. Passing through the prism of his madness and poverty, Kirk Douglas paints an interesting portrait of a non-conformist, insane demiurge. It turns out a bright splash, which, on closer examination, spreads on paper with a flat spot. In the American film portrait of the artist remains much more of the personality of Kirk Douglas than reflections of van Gogh.
The more interesting is the look of Maurice Pial. And he makes a completely different movie, as if about another person. Calm, leisurely and charming van Gogh, Pial looks more like a bored Dude Lebowski than Kirk's hero. He hardly remembers a psychiatric hospital in San Remi, constantly complains about his brother, sometimes paints and is quite conformist in the courtship of a 13-year-old girl. The courtship had to flow harmoniously into the marriage, showing that Piala may have looked at Van Gogh from a radically different point of view. It is believed that the lack of sold paintings from this artist made him a lifetime outsider, unrecognized and suffering. But the most important recognition was the recognition of women. A young girl from a wealthy family was fascinated not by creativity, but by the personality of the artist. There were others. Even Theo’s wife flirted with him (the director creates a special plume around the sexual line with her). Piala saw this point, growing around this thesis simple plot.
Van Gogh was sent to the open air. He was not a prisoner of the walls. His meditative walks, dates on collapsing fields, conversations on everyday topics. All this allowed us to penetrate the atmosphere of that time and try to look at the genius a little differently. Jacques Dutron did not play a psycho, but a man tired of life. A little romantic, a little silly. The heavy glance of the underside and a slight slouch, isolation and restraint - all this seemed very realistic to me. Sympathetic Dutron, who previously had very decent work with Lelyush and Zulawski, this time appears as a mature actor. He does not just “catch” a successful cliché – making him look like a great painter. Dutronk creates an emotionally rich character, creating perhaps the best van Gogh in the history of cinema.
Well, Piala made a very good movie. The main bet was apparently put on atmosphericity, the desire to catch the spirit of the times, rather than on psychological intensity. One of the strongest dialogues in the tape is Theo's confession to his wife about his attitude towards his brother. Importantly, Piala is trying to level the tension in this scene. When Theo reveals his skepticism, so reminiscent of envy, his wife literally nude, modestly taking a bath. Precise contrast. As accurate as the evening in the brothel - joyful heroes dance the march, the girls then issue the cancan. To my taste, Piala in these scenes was brilliant in its simplicity. And Vincent parodying Toulouse-Lautrec? Beautiful. There will be many such small oases, at a very slow pace.
8 out of 10