ENTERTAINMENT
BY JOHN CAMPBELL
LOVING VINCENT When I learnt that Vincent van Gogh had taken his own life by shooting himself in the stomach, I thought it a peculiar and uncertain way of going about it. Why didn’t he make sure of it with a straightforward bullet to the head or heart? It is the question that propels this remarkable animation – although ‘animation’ seems a disrespectful term for what is a series of moving paintings. And they are not just any old paintings, but the great works of van Gogh brought to life. One hundred artists were involved in meticulously recreating the landscapes and portraits executed by him, mostly when he was living in the south of France. Incredibly, he did not pick up a brush until he was
twenty-eight, but had completed 800 canvases by the time of his death at thirty-six. The story is set in the year after he died, with B&W flashbacks to when van Gogh (voiced by Robert Gulaczyk) was still alive. Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth), son of the postmaster and the subject of one of Vincent’s portraits, sets out to deliver the artist’s last letter to his brother Theo. When hearing that Theo is also dead, Armand becomes more curious about what exactly had happened on the fateful day of Vincent’s suicide. Speaking with those who knew him best, including Doctor Gachet (Jerome Flynn), himself a wannabe artist and confidante of van Gogh, and Adeline Ravoux (Eleanor Tomlinson), the chatty proprietress of a cafe frequented by Vincent, Armand provokes more questions than he answers. The locals’ testimony, thoroughly researched by directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, combined with Vincent’s own words, paint the picture of a lonely, driven man, gentle but short-fused, erratic but painting to a strict 8–5 timetable, tormented by his sense of failure and dependence on Theo, but inspired by his response to what he saw around him to create works of undying beauty. Surprisingly, the famous sunflowers are only fleetingly noticed, but the concluding rendition of Starry Starry Night is terribly poignant.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
The story opens with an Orientalist shot of between-the-wars Jerusalem, at the Wailing Wall. Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), Agatha Christie’s legendary Belgian detective, in broad daylight, after solving a local problem, walks away and steps in a mountainous mound of camel-poo. You might think it passing strange that a man of his phenomenal powers of observation didn’t see it right in front of him, but it was just a setup for a lame joke – and who wants to be a nit-picking critic anyway? Despite having read the novel ages ago and seen the first movie adaptation of it (with Albert Finney as Poirot and a stellar cast that included John Gielgud, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman and Sean Connery), I could not at first remember the outcome… until the decisive moment when the victim’s body, stabbed to death, was shown. It came back to me in an instant and, from that moment the ‘who dunnit’ factor played no part. So what is there left? Branagh, despite a ridiculous moustache that invades his whole face (it is as though he feared he could find no other way to stamp his individuality on the role), is an excellent Poirot, with a back-story of lost love that never goes anywhere (people rave about David Suchet in the part, but my fave was Peter Ustinov.) The glossy visuals are beautifully escapist – who doesn’t want to recall a period when train travel was real travel? – but the plot itself is the problem. To true devotees of the murder mystery, it is just a little bit beyond plausibility. Christie wrote numerous brilliantly clever Poirot/Miss Marple novels, so it seems a shame that this, possibly her most contrived, is the one that has found precedence. Branagh, as director, manages to bring it home with a high-minded moral challenge to us, demanding that we question what is right and what is wrong. It’s a conclusion that adds some weight to a classy but forgettable frippery.
WITH LILITH WITH THIS WEEK’S SUN, VENUS, JUPITER AND LATE-WEEK MOON IN SCORPIO INVITING US ALL TO DEEP THOUGHT, MAKE TIME FOR THIS – DON’T PUT IT OFF. ARIES: The differing styles of Mars, your ruling planet, and Venus could be described as impact (Mars) versus influence (Venus). Opposition isn’t this week’s aim, though: working together in confluence is. As benefits from the last seven years of Uranus in Aries, settle into your life and psyche; powerful endings and beginnings arrive simultaneously… TAURUS: You’ll easily cut through the bluff and puff that doesn’t have substance to this week’s real deal. Should this dredge up old upsets, be selective whom you share your feelings with. Note to self: texting and tweeting aren’t in-depth communication. Nothing beats one-on-one face time, this or any other week.
SCORPIO: This astro-transit offers deep realisations concerning the most private parts of your life. And requires mucho quiet time, ideally by water, receiving guiding downloads to your mental inbox. Even if you already feel top of the pops, you’ll find this information surprising – as well as invaluable in personal and professional negotiations.
GEMINI: Geminis are the zodiac’s Information Central tribe, but don’t be surprised if others need private space and personal time this week to process whatever’s going on – which could involve dealing with intense feelings and/or difficult emotional history. You might consider a little resting and nesting yourself to do the same.
SAGITTARIUS: Mercury and Saturn aligned in your sign are very much about watching what you say. Listen to the words coming out of your mouth. Are they really what you want to communicate? Is this the way you’re happy expressing yourself? You’re far more than a talking head – share your Sagittarian wisdom with artistry and mindfulness.
CANCER: You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life – once you understand that’s the trick to handling this week’s stubborn/insistent, push/ pull fandango, which features subtle resistance, irritating pirouettes, toes trodden on, inappropriate thrusting and may-I-cutin behaviour. Your best moves? Glide… and hold. Now, shall we dance?
CAPRICORN: Capricorns are the zodiac’s experts at blending business with pleasure. As technology expands your focus to include neighbourhood groups, wider social networks, even global communities, your natural enjoyment in mixing and mingling for profitable purposes increases exponentially. If this week brings a strong prompt to contact someone from the past, act on it.
LEO: As this week finalises the grand fire trine between Saturn, Uranus and Leo North Node, hopefully you’ve received the requisite guidelines for navigating changes in the home zone. As in choosing attitudes, behaviours and people who strengthen, rather than deplete the sturdy internal core that supports you through life’s rough-andtumble times. VIRGO: You’re quite the hub of this week’s social buzz, though if early-week Virgo moon plus Mercury in the sign of speedy energy have you wired and considering a radical decision, wait a while. There’s more incoming information to assess. When change arrives in this intriguing orbital cycle, it happens in a flash.
44 November 15, 2017 The Byron Shire Echo
LIBRA: You’ll be inclined to overdo it this week, which comes with a caution against working too hard, being too driven, doing too much. With so much happening, your call is to prioritise. Honestly, what’s the rush? Some things can wait. Midweek Libra moon shines a keen eye on a great buy, especially online.
AQUARIUS: Aquarians engage with life through their mental processes. This deep-water week is touchyfeely: not your fave kind. If uncomfortable emotions surge, don’t close down. Let your personal planet Uranus in the sign of new paths open the way. Envisage a river with high banks safely containing the flow. Go with it. PISCES: Jupiter in the sign of the psychic sleuth is currently on a year-long mission to assemble the missing, rejected or ignored pieces of your personal jigsaw together again in a mandala of renewal. Think of it as diving deep into your own subterranean ocean to retrieve long-lost buried treasures.
Byron Shire Echo archives: www.echo.net.au/byron-echo