Loving Vincent

A year after the death of Vincent van Gogh, his postman’s son (Douglas Booth) sets out to deliver a recently found letter from Vincent to his brother Theo. At first unwilling, the young man slowly warms to his errand, and it becomes an investigation into van Gogh’s life and death. This British-Polish co-production is well-acted and well-written (by Jacek Dehnel and co-directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman). It would have been interesting in any case; what makes it a sublimely beautiful experience is the technique Kobiela and Welchman adopt, replacing live-action footage with hand-painted animation, making the movie’s world look like van Gogh’s paintings come to life. The result is breathtakingly original, a reminder of both van Gogh’s unique vision and the tactile pleasure of hand-drawn animation. J.L.