Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater presents Oscar-nominee “Loving Vincent,” the world’s first fully oil painted feature film this Friday, March 23, at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. This film tells van Gogh’s remarkable story by bringing his paintings to life. Every one of the 65,000 frames of the film is hand-painted by 125 professional oil-painters who travelled from all across the world to the Loving Vincent studios in Poland and Greece.
As remarkable as Vincent’s brilliant paintings is his passionate and ill-fated life and mysterious death. No other artist has attracted more legends than Vincent van Gogh. Variously labelled a martyr, a lustful satyr, a madman, a genius and a layabout, the real Vincent is at once revealed in his letters, and obscured by myth and time.
Vincent himself said in his last letter: “We cannot speak other than by our paintings.” The film takes him at his word and lets the paintings tell the real story of Vincent van Gogh.
“Loving Vincent” was first shot as a live action film with actors, and then hand-painted over frame-by-frame in oils. The final effect is a collaborative performance of the actors playing Vincent’s famous portraits, and the animators, both bringing these characters into the medium of paint.
“Loving Vincent” stars famous faces to match the famous paintings they portray:
Douglas Booth (Jupiter Ascending, Noah) stars as Armand Roulin
Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark, Jack the Giant Slayer) is Adeline Ravoux
Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones) plays Doctor Gachet (the painting of which held the record for the highest priced painting for 14 years, the longest time ever)
Saoirse Ronan (Oscar nominee for Ladybird, Brooklyn & Atonement) plays his daughter Marguerite Gachet
Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, The IT Crowd) is Postman Joseph Roulin
John Sessions (Filth, Gangs of New York) is Vincent’s paint supplier, Pere Tanguy
Aidan Turner (The Hobbit, Poldark) is the Boatman from Vincent’s Bank of the Oise at Auvers painting
Helen McCrory (Harry Potter) plays Louise Chevalier, house-keeper to Doctor Gachet
Robert Gulaczyk (a theatre actor) performs in his first film role as Vincent van Gogh.
Tickets to Friday’s shows are $12, $7 students (+1 preservation fee). Tickets are on sale through the Town Hall Theater Box Office at townhalltheater.org, in person, by calling (802) 382-9222 Monday-Saturday, 12-5 p.m., or at the door starting one hour before show times.