عند بوابة الخلود

This film doesn't follow the Hollywood structure. It's not a biography like you might expect, and the plot isn't defined. Instead, this is an attempt to get inside Van Gogh's head, and a brilliant one at that. Imagine being the world's greatest artist, with zero validation and constant ridicule by the establishment around you. That's the torturous state of being this film encapsulates and does it with purpose. At times, the cinema language gets more experimental than necessarily to accomplish its goal, but I commend the director for pushing the boundaries of standard filmmaking and letting us inhabit Van Gogh's mind for this brief period. I genuinely felt a loss for this escape from my own mind when Van Gogh passed. I recommend anyone involved with artistic or creative thinking to watch this film.

Lord, deliver me from director's who think they are the second coming of van Gogh and try to make a movie about van Gogh. So awful in presentation and filming technique that I walked out of the theater in under an hour. And, that was before he cut off his ear.

Sorry to say I cannot get past Willem Dafoe's accent. It is really off putting. Reminds me of how Tony Curtis's accent ruined Spartacus. Why was he cast? For his looks? There are many that could look like Vincent. Also he is far too old to play him.

The visuals were stunning...this movie gives a glimpse of Van Gogh from his point of view, which the other many movies on Van Gogh have not done. Read any critic's review and they will describe it. However, I have some issues: 1) The hand held camera is used to show his troubled mind...but it was so shaky at points I had to close my eyes 2) Dafoe's dialogue is in Contemporary American English. The producer said that it was conceivable that Van Gogh spoke English. But the movie did not give Van Gogh a dutch accent nor did he speak in 1880's English. 3) The dialog seemed like it was from a text book...actually more like a sophomore college essay about Van Gogh. The dialog was based on letters by Van Gogh...but it was distracting because it did not sound of the period or the time. 4) this movie dragged onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn