The Cinematheque

“Astonishing, totally astonishing; far beyond the cinematographic horizon covered up until now by our wretched gaze.”

Jean-Luc Godard

“Arguably the greatest biographical film about an artist ever made” (David Thompson, Sight and Sound), Maurice Pialat’s follow up to the Palme d’Or-winning Under the Sun of Satan was this nuanced, naturalistic account of the last days of Vincent Van Gogh, which appeared on the heels of Robert Altman’s more widely seen Vincent & Theo. Pialat’s Van Gogh is set largely in Auvers-sur-Oise, where the self-destructive artist (memorably played by Jacques Dutronc) comes under the patronage and medical care of kind Dr. Gachet (Gérard Séty). Their relationship becomes strained when Van Gogh begins an affair with the doctor’s young daughter (Alexandra London). Meanwhile, the artist’s already-troubled relationship with brother Theo (Bernard Le Coq) deteriorates further. The film eschews melodrama and the more sensational staples of the painter’s story for the intimacy, relentless realism, and remarkable avoidance of sentimentality that are the hallmarks of Pialat’s work.

In French with English subtitles

“Stunningly photographed … Utterly compelling … In the leading role, Dutronc has exactly the right quality of physical frailty and stooped sadness to complement Pialat’s beautiful, poignant images.”

Nigel Floyd, Time Out

“Pialat is one of the finest living French filmmakers, and Van Gogh is arguably one of his best … A world and an era are powerfully realized.”

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader