But I could have told you Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you

traiThese words have been ringing around my head this week.  On Sunday night we sat down to watch Loving Vincent, a film following the events that led to the death of Van Gogh.  The story is told through the Armand Roulin, son of the postman Joseph, whose job it is to deliver the final letter from the late artist to his brother.  The story begins in the south of France at Arles, then heads north, through a brief stop-over in Montmartre, before moving on to Auvers-sur-Oise, where Roulin meets the cast of characters that knew Vincent, and witnessed his final days.  Initially, Armand Roulin doesn't want the journey, nor does he see the point of the delivering a dead man's letter, but he is soon absorbed into the artist's world, and as the waters become murkier, so one question remains unanswered - how did Vincent, a man said to have been in a good mental state at that time, come to die so suddenly by a gunshot wound to the stomach?  In the end, of course, Armand has to satisfy himself that some questions remain unanswered; that some thirsts cannot be quenched; that people are not perfect; and that even the strongest of us cannot always manage the burden.  

Portrait of Armand Roulin, 1888

The world is full of phoney, vitriolic people with empty hearts and vacant minds.  As Van Gogh found to his ultimate cost, sometimes the only path is to follow your heart, spill out whatever is inside, grab all the wonder that you see in the world and do your best to share it, even with those who will not listen or look.  Vincent Van Gogh's soul emanated a beauty that was so far beyond the reach of other men, yet battled for his place in a society where he had been rejected by inferiors.  And in the end?  The world remembers Vincent - a man who created 800 paintings and sold only one in his lifetime - as the undisputed father of modern art.  As Joseph Roulin tells his son towards the end of the film: "The trick is to know what you are fighting for."  Perhaps Vincent knew that he would live on, long after death had taken his body away.  Perhaps he knew what he was fighting for, all along.

Self portrait, 1889

Created exclusively using 65,000 individual oil paintings, Loving Vincent has hit me to the point of tears, both for its poignant message and its perfect homage to the great artist.  How the directors (Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman) managed to incorporate so much from Van Gogh's huge body or work into the film is incredible, and seeing so many of his masterpieces - along with lesser-known paintings - weaved seamlessly into the narrative is a joy to behold.  A must-see film for art lovers, culture vultures, and anyone who just believes there's more to life - more to being human - than flesh, blood and bones.

Landscape with carriage and a train, 1890

"In the life of the painter, death may perhaps not be the most difficult thing.  For myself, I declare I don't know anything about it.  But, the sight of the stars always makes me dream.  Why, I say to myself, should those spots of light in the firmament be inaccessible to us?  Maybe we can take death to go to a star, and to die peacefully of old age would be to go there on foot.  For the moment, I am going to go to bed because it's late, and I wish you goodnight and good luck with a handshake, your loving Vincent."

Starry night over the Rhone