Van Gogh is a French period drama film first released in 1991, directed by Maurice Pialat.  The film stars Jacques Dutronc, Alexandra London, Bernard Le Coq, Gérard Séty and Corinne Bourdon.  Our overall rating for this film is: very good.


In the spring of 1890, the impoverished artist Vincent Van Gogh moves to Auvers-sur-Oise, not far from Paris.  He stays at a modest inn and places himself under the care of the kindly Dr Gachet.  Although outwardly his life appears to be well-ordered and peaceful, the painter is tormented by inner demons which cause him to mutilate himself.  Vincent receives a visit from his brother Theo, who seems to be the only person who believes in his talent as an artist.  He has an affair with Gachet’s young daughter, Marguerite, Theo’s wife Johanna and a prostitute, Cathy.  Returning from a trip to Paris, which resulted in a quarrel with Theo, Vincent fails to recover his peace of mind...

Van Gogh was the penultimate work from Maurice Pialat, one of France’s most controversial film directors of the 1980s and 1990s.  Pialat established himself with his uncompromising social realist dramas, which include Loulou (1980) and A Nos amours (1983).  These films tend to concentrate exclusively on marginalised individuals – social outcasts or vulnerable adolescents – portraying the world through their eyes.  Whilst such bold auteur-ism has earned Pialat mixed criticism, it is an approach which appears to suit the film biography genre, as Van Gogh – possibly Pialat’s greatest work – amply demonstrates.

The story of Vincent Van Gogh naturally admits a romanticised or melodramatic interpretation, and previous films of the artist’s life have certainly not played down the dramatic periods in his life. Vincente Minnelli’s 1956 film, Lust for life, although rated the best biographical film of Van Gogh’s life, opts for the easier path of melodrama than the one chosen by Pialat, which is one of dogged unsentimentality and realism. 

Pialat is far more concerned with portraying Van Gogh as an ordinary man, not the stereotypical image of the insane tortured genius we are all taught at school.  The film concentrates on the ordinary day-to-day events which filled up the artist’s last two months, showing how he lived, the nature of his relationships with others, and how he saw the world. 

Maurice Pialat’s Van Gogh has the feel of authenticity about it which Minnelli’s film seems to lack.  This is partly down to Pialat’s striking minimalist style, brought to life by some extraordinarily beautiful cinematography, and also the first-rate acting performances.   Jacques Dutronc makes a surprisingly convincing Van Gogh – alternately intense and playful, anything but a naïve stereotype of the celebrated artist.   Alexandra London is also impressive in the role of Marguerite Gachet (although this character’s role in the film is, as Pialat admits, largely fictional). 

For those expecting something on similar lines to Lust for Life, this film will be a shock.  Pialat’s cold, detached treatment of his subject, the film’s slow pacing and near-epic length (nearly three hours) prevent the film from being accessible to all but a narrow spectrum of enthusiasts.  Which is not to say that it is a bad film – quite the reverse.  Pialat’s Van Gogh has a daring genius about it which, in a strange and subtle way, has a natural resonance with its subject.   Maybe this is fortuitous, or maybe it reflects Pialat’s own profound interest in painting – he has stated he would have preferred a career as an artist to that of a film-maker.   There is certainly some overlap between the destinies of Van Gogh and Pialat – both being creative talents who were sorely misunderstood and underrated for their achievements during their lifetimes.   In making Van Gogh, Pialat is perhaps unconsciously reflecting on his own frustrated career.  In any event, there is a sense that this is a film adaptation of Vincent Van Gogh’s life which Van Gogh himself might have appreciated.

© James Travers 2003

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