The problem with making a biopic of an artist is the temptation to compose every frame as a painting; Vincente Minnelli already had this tendency so he was a logical choice to make Lust For Life, which I've yet to see. No one ever accused Maurice Pialet of either artistic or poetic tendencies given his predilection for the in-yer-face School of Film-making but he does succumb to the urge from time to time in this ... well WHAT exactly is a good question. It chooses to record only the final weeks in the life of Vincent Van Gogh, from his arrival at Auvers until he killed himself a few weeks later. Jacques Dutronc is not a natural actor to portray a passionate, tortured artist and Kirk Douglas was a much more obvious choice - though not having seen Lust For Life I am unable to comment on how well he justified his casting - being cool and cerebral, the ideal qualities for his role in, for example, Merci pour le chocolate. To be fair to Pialat I doubt if he was interested in seducing the viewer with pretty compositions or logical storytelling and his period research is pretty nigh faultless as are the performances particularly Bernard Le Coq as Theo. On balance this is a movie that needs to find its audience with little or no help from the director.
Review of Van Gogh
