Nietzsche once said that there are men who are born posthumous. Contemporary of the German philosopher, although it is not known if at any time he had read it, the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh perhaps had the same feeling. One of the most interesting moments of "At the Eternity's Gate" is the conversation of a Van Gogh (Willem Defoe) hospitalized in the sanatorium and the priest lived by Madds Mikkelsen. Amid reflections on the roles of God and Jesus Christ, Van Gogh says he may have been born at the wrong time and will eventually paint pictures for individuals to come.
In fact, today the Dutchman who had a life surrounded by medical problems, got mutilated and only knew the misery that was not absolute thanks to the help of brother Theo (Rupert Friend), would only be more strongly recognized after his death. Today, he is a painter celebrated for his technique and the vigorous, exaggerated and intense manner with which he painted his paintings.
Much of what we see in "At the Eternity's Gate" is Van Gogh's quest for an almost divine element for his painting. "I paint the sunlight," he says. In fact, the brightness of southern France is what helps him leverage his technique. Julian Schnabel's film is very involved in this quest for luminosity. There are many ways and places from which Van Gogh looks at the sky to seek the perfect light and paint in a way never before seen.
And the more he plunges into that light, Van Gogh's curiously falls into the darkness of his own confused and restless mind. Neither brother nor friend Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac) can get him out of this state, which turns out to be natural.
The period in which Gauguin, in fact, goes to Arles generates another of the good scenes of the film, which is precisely the debate between the two about painting what one sees in the way one wants to see, like Van Gogh, and to paint creatively from the which is in the head, which is what defends Gauguin. Obviously there is no conclusion. It's just interesting points of view.
Unfortunately, "At the Eternity's Gate" is repeated too much in the painting cycle, Van Gogh's madness and does not reveal new layers or reflections on the painter. In the same way, it does not bring new interpretations about its mysterious death, something better worked in the excellent animation "Loving Vincent".
Defoe's participation in the lead role even justifies his Oscar nomination. The actor convinces in the role of a Van Gogh who is at no time in his place and who lives desperately to paint, his only talent, the one that was granted him by God.
But if "At the Eternity's Gate" gives us some beautiful scenes by the light of the sun, it leaves to be desired with its narrative based on a conventional cinebiography and in those insights of always of geniuses. Suffering, pleasure, falling, redemption, death .... Van Gogh deserved more than just that.
In fact, today the Dutchman who had a life surrounded by medical problems, got mutilated and only knew the misery that was not absolute thanks to the help of brother Theo (Rupert Friend), would only be more strongly recognized after his death. Today, he is a painter celebrated for his technique and the vigorous, exaggerated and intense manner with which he painted his paintings.
Much of what we see in "At the Eternity's Gate" is Van Gogh's quest for an almost divine element for his painting. "I paint the sunlight," he says. In fact, the brightness of southern France is what helps him leverage his technique. Julian Schnabel's film is very involved in this quest for luminosity. There are many ways and places from which Van Gogh looks at the sky to seek the perfect light and paint in a way never before seen.
And the more he plunges into that light, Van Gogh's curiously falls into the darkness of his own confused and restless mind. Neither brother nor friend Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac) can get him out of this state, which turns out to be natural.
The period in which Gauguin, in fact, goes to Arles generates another of the good scenes of the film, which is precisely the debate between the two about painting what one sees in the way one wants to see, like Van Gogh, and to paint creatively from the which is in the head, which is what defends Gauguin. Obviously there is no conclusion. It's just interesting points of view.
Unfortunately, "At the Eternity's Gate" is repeated too much in the painting cycle, Van Gogh's madness and does not reveal new layers or reflections on the painter. In the same way, it does not bring new interpretations about its mysterious death, something better worked in the excellent animation "Loving Vincent".
Defoe's participation in the lead role even justifies his Oscar nomination. The actor convinces in the role of a Van Gogh who is at no time in his place and who lives desperately to paint, his only talent, the one that was granted him by God.
But if "At the Eternity's Gate" gives us some beautiful scenes by the light of the sun, it leaves to be desired with its narrative based on a conventional cinebiography and in those insights of always of geniuses. Suffering, pleasure, falling, redemption, death .... Van Gogh deserved more than just that.