The paintings of renowned artist Vincent Van Gogh are the primary source material for one of the oddest and most gorgeous nominated films of the last decade, Loving Vincent. Young Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth) is tasked with delivering the last letter from a painter, Vincent (Robert Gulaczyk), who committed suicide a year earlier, to his beloved brother, Theo (Cezary Łukaszewicz). It seems like a simple task, but Armand soon finds out that Vincent was far more complicated and interesting than he thought. As he interviews the people who knew the starving artist, Armand begins to suspect his suicide might have been a murder committed by someone close to him.
You have to admire the chutzpah of the film’s directors, Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, to make an animated film using van Gogh’s Impressionistic style. You wouldn’t think it would work, but it does, and it’s all in service to a moving story about the painter himself. Loving Vincent uses rotoscope animation to replicate many of van Gogh’s famous works, like “Starry Night Over the Rhône” and “Wheatfield with Crows,” which creates an unforgettable, dreamlike atmosphere. The talented voice cast includes Little Women’s Saoirse Ronan and Rivals star Aidan Turner.
