Lust for Life (1956)
“I want to create things that touch people.”
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Review: … then by his understandably overwhelmed cousin (Sterke), who recognizes that Vincent’s obsessive love is more than she can manage: We’re happy for Vincent when he meets a like-minded soul in Brown, who he’s able to live and paint with for at least a while: … though the eventual dissolution of their partnership is painful to watch, too. Thankfully, Vincent’s caring brother Theo is a consistent source of quiet sustenance: … and we remain grateful for everything he did to help make Vincent’s life easier while he could. His hiring of Gaugin to “babysit” Vincent leads to yet more heartwrenching scenes, culminating in Vincent’s infamous slicing off of his own ear: Vincent’s personal recognition and insistence that he will be safest in a sanitorium makes us grateful for the self-preservation he possessed, at least for a while (Marion Ross of “Happy Days” fame plays the nun below): Most marvelous about this picture, however, are Minnelli’s successful attempts to show us Van Gogh working on dozens of his best known pieces, across a variety of landscapes and scenarios (below, Everett Sloane portrays Dr. Paul Gachet, who ‘treated’ Vincent during his last years of life): It’s also a joy to hear so much smart dialogue about art and colors, as when Vincent is explaining his process to Gaugin, who utilizes a different approach:
The film’s closing image, gradually panning out to see the scope of much of Van Gogh’s work: … is an especially fitting and touching finale to this fine biopic. Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:
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