Vincent And Theo (1990)
Apparently conceived as a four-hour miniseries for the BBC, director Robert Altman (Short Cuts) and writer Julian Mitchell (Wilde) worked to reduce the original scope of Vincent And Theo to focus upon the final years of the Post-Impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh (played by Tim Roth). The film was not simply about the infamously tortured artist, however. It framed his story within his relationship with his younger brother Theo (played by Paul Rhys).
Theo Van Gogh was a renowned art dealer, who greatly admired his older sibling – consistently supporting him emotionally and financially, through hardship and bouts of mental ill health. Vincent – who was known to regard his paintings as off-spring, of sorts – corresponded by letter with his younger brother, and consequently left behind an intimate self-portrait more revealing than any work of art. Vincent tragically died at the age of 37, by a gun-shot wound which was assumed to be self-inflicted. Devastated, and in ill health himself, Theo died six months later, aged 33.
Published: Oct 21, 2014 10:56 pm