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

The Lions of London

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Live in peace and plant potatoes and dream

It's easy, in this 24/7, energetic, busy and hassled world, to get a bit wrapped up in your own life.  Those small work decisions that are just so important; the commute home each day in the fraught and choc-a-bloc traffic; bills; politics; technology...  Maybe I'm undergoing a personal revolution, or perhaps I'm simply getting old before my time, but the modern-day bustle of life is fast losing its appeal in my eyes - I don't want the latest iphone, I don't need to stream my movies from "the cloud," and I really couldn't care less about the latest social media craze; the "ice bucket challenge," and "selfies," it has all just blissfully passed me by, and I have to say, I'm the happiest I've ever been.

This current outlook on life meant I really connected with the film I took Lizzie to see for her birthday recently, where a trip to Dartington's Barn Cinema saw us enjoy an hour-and-a-half in the company of the Moomins, in their new feature film, The Moomins on the Riviera.  Now, I have a deep fondness for these loveable, big-nosed creatures stretching back into childhood, and was amazed when I first met Lizzie, to find that she was an even bigger fan.  And what's not to love?  The Moomins live a peaceful life, in a tranquil valley, where an understanding of the world and a one-ness with nature prevails.  As a kid I was enthralled by their adventures, and Tove Jansson's brilliant creations have long been my inspiration for travelling to Scandinavia - an ambition as yet unfulfilled.

Moomin Mama, Moomin papa and precocious Little My

The Moomins on the Riviera was released on 10 October 2014 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tove Jansson's birth, but only made it onto UK screens at the end of May this year.  There's plenty to get excited by in this new film; for a start, it does something that no other film producer wants to do these days (sit up and take note, Disney) - it has stuck to its traditional, iconic, winning formula of good, old-fashioned, hand-drawn, two-dimensional animation, which for me beats your high-tech CGI computer animation every time.  But beyond the method of production lies the heart of the matter - the Moomins, virtually unchanged from their first animated debut in 1990, holding true to their culture and their values in a world where so many others have taken the money and sold out.  The very presence of this film demonstrates this point, but it is also woven deep into the fabric of the film's plot, in which the Moomins set sail for the Riviera.  During their time living the jet-set lifestyle, Moomin Papa falls in with a rich aristocrat and Snorkmaiden falls for the local playboy, leaving Moomintroll consumed with jealousy, and Moomin Mama to hold the family together, and get them all back on track to their traditional, life-affirming ways.  It's a powerful shot at a weary world, a challenge to a society fuelled by greed and always on the pursuit of financial wealth and riches.

The Moomins on the Riviera (source: official film website)

The timing of the film's screening fell, by some chance, on Lizzie's birthday weekend, which tied in (quite accidentally) with her present from me - volumes one to four of the Moomins TV series on DVD.  I actually worked quite hard to find these, but have already seen how, with the release of the feature film, they are slowly beginning to appear in the shops.  We've started to work our way through the episodes, and there's a definite humour to them that I certainly didn't perceive as a child.  What is the same, though, is that lovely, clean, idyllic Moomin way, and its message is as strong today - maybe even stronger, and perhaps more necessary - as it was when it first hit our TV screens 25 years ago.  The series in their book form, of course, goes back much further, to 1945 - but that's a story for another blog.

Moomin DVDs

Sometimes, when I'm pottering in the garden, watching bumble bees buzz around the lavender, or just admiring the view from our summer house, I feel a little bit like Moomintroll.  I feel like we're both content with what we have, both in touch with the world, both happy to while away the summer evenings with our loved ones, watching the flowers bloom and the vegetables grow.  And I'm happy with that, to have a sort-of kindred spirit in the animated world, and one whose vision of a happy life I really share - that is, to live in peace, and plant potatoes, and dream.

Snufkin

Bond is Back

We're all going Bond-crazy as the newest addition to the 007 collection hits cinemas up and down the country!  I for one am seriously excited about the latest film, which has reviewed fantastically well and has what must be the most "Bondy" theme song for many years.  No I haven't seen Skyfall yet, but I'm already envisioning a powerful and explosive introduction, melting into the atmospheric piano tones of Adele's new hit.  It sounds straight out of the Bond tradition.  Check out this Skyfall review, it will really whet your appetite.

It has always been said that a person's favourite James Bond is usually the one he or she grew up with.  My first Bond experience came at the Alexandra cinema in Newton Abbot, the beautiful gem of a building below.  I was 11 or 12 and off with a friend to watch Tomorrow Never Dies, the second of the Peirce Brosnan series in which an out-of-control media mogul tries to create an enormous war in order to boost his news sales.  Cue a British secret agent...

Newton Abbot's Alexandra cinema

I was hooked.  I wanted to see more Bond films, and a few weeks later Dr. No screened on the television.  I remember remarking that  "some old guy" was playing 007 when I watched it - I didn't realsie at the time that this old guy was, of course, Sean Connery.  Film after film them flooded into my life (aided by the generous time ITV dedicated to Bond Season), and before I knew it I had collected every movie on video.  The spines of their cases formed a picture and sat proudly on my shelf until the invention of the DVD player.  Now, perhaps it's time to invest in a new collection, and revisit these classics.
 
There hasn't been a bad Bond in my opinion.  Each actor has broguht something new and different to the franchise, and each is very much a product of his time.  Sophisticated 1960s Connery and Lazenby, 70s joker-Bond Roger Moore, powerful 80s agent Dalton, slick and suave 90s man Brosnan, gritty Daniel Craig, perfect for our current age.  So do I have a favourite?  It's impossible to pick one Bond, but here are the five films that most stick in my mind when I think of 007.  The original British movie posters are just terrific, don't you think?

 

I hope that Skyfall lives up to these classics, and I'm sure it will.  I just can't wait to get in front of the big screen for it, to welcome the secret agent back into my life once again!