We’ve already had a few fine cinematic attempts to tell the story of the brilliant yet tortured Vincent Van Gogh, including the 1956 masterpiece Lust for Life and Robert Altman’s 1990 character study Vincent & Theo, which focused on the relationship between the artist and his supportive brother. Despite their colorful efforts, the one element missing was the beautiful, slightly unsettling look of Van Gogh’s groundbreaking artwork.
Loving Vincent, the latest from animators Hugh Welchman and Dorota Kobiela, is the first of these biopics to get it right. That’s because the entire film is comprised of actual paintings: The international production employed over 100 artists to paint each frame of the film on canvas, copying the thick brushstrokes and brash colors of Van Gogh’s most celebrated works. The resulting movie is stunning—a dream-like vision that flutters and vibrates with energy.