DAY 5, MOVIE 1:
Lust for Life (1956), directed by Vincente Minnelli. This is the first non-musical I’ve seen by Vincente Minnelli, so I was very interested to see how this turned out. I saw his films An American in Paris and Gigi, but thought they were extremely dated. Although the technical aspects of those films were up there, everything in the stories and acting lacked depth. Now I’ve seen a straight-up drama by Minnelli, a biography of Vincent Van Gogh (played by Kirk Douglas). And what did I think? Well, I really liked this movie. The set design and cinematography were gorgeous, but unlike the other Minnelli films I’ve seen, the appeal doesn’t stop at the visuals. Kirk Douglas gave a really good performance as Van Gogh. But it wasn’t the way he played Van Gogh that intrigued me, but rather the way he interacted with the supporting cast. Douglas truly embodied the spirit of an obsessed artist. Whenever Douglas spoke with other characters, you could see his passion for art, and how he wants to present his own paintings. The best scenes were those where Douglas interacted with Anthony Quinn, who played another artist. I loved how they portrayed two artists who respected each other, but both had their own opinions of what art should be. This was something that really rang true to me, as in my personal life I’m always debating with the people I know over how the art of film should be looked upon. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this movie, and I’m glad that there is a Vincente Minnelli film out there that has a story with enough depth to support his visual style.
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