Earlier this year, I watched Loving Vincent, the animated movie that used motion capture to resemble Vincent van Gogh’s paintings. That movie acted as a kind of murder mystery, delving into Vincent’s last days and how he affected the people around him. As much as I was taken by the wonderful animations that were very true to the art, the story fell a little flat.

I’m no expert on van Gogh, but I have a great fondness for his art. So when I got to see At Eternity’s Gate, I was reminded of Loving Vincent and how they both portrayed the artist and his work.

At Eternity’s Gate is one of my favorite movies of the year, and the perhaps the most beautiful one I’ve seen in 2019. Ad Astra was also visually breathtaking, but that movie is mostly set in space. This movie is earthbound and deeply humane.

Willem Dafoe is nothing short of spectacular. Even though he’s 25 years older than the Dutch painter at the time of his death, that matters little when Dafoe delivers such a captivating performance.

Dafoe is the star of the show, but I also want to mention Oscar Isaac (as Paul Gauguin), Rupert Friend (as Theo van Gogh) and Mads Mikkelsen in supporting roles.

Now, I haven’t seen Kirk Douglas in Lust for Life, the 1956 biopic, so I can’t compare the two movies. But in this day and age where we’re inundated with biopics, At Eternity’s Gate does something different. Instead of doing the old cradle to the grave movie, Julian Schnabel here works in vignettes that focus on the last years of van Gogh’s life – to great effect, that is. These vignettes works as a mosaic, painting a picture of van Gogh that goes beyond that of a troubled artist.

Where Loving Vincent showed us the effect that Vincent had on the people he met, At Eternity’s Gate is seen from van Gogh’s perspective. Kyle Kizu writes well on how the two movies go together in his post The Harmony of ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ and ‘Loving Vincent’:

At Eternity’s Gate touches on how van Gogh’s paintings indicate how he lives on, that they’re for people beyond his life. Fittingly, Loving Vincent literally manifests his painted world after his death, showing the life within his paintings and how others live in a world he will have forever touched.

What entranced me the most about the film, apart from Dafoe’s acting, was the way it uses the camera.

Cinematographer Benoît Delhomme uses it as the tool that it is, twisting and turning, using close-ups and wide shots that captures mood and atmosphere in an unprecedented way. The cinematography is reminiscent of Emmanuel Lubezki’s work (Children of Men, Birdman, The Revenant) but never in a way that takes you out of the picture. You’re aware of the camera, but it’s all done to visualize van Gogh’s state of mind. Coupled with excellent sound design and a brilliant score (by Tatiana Lisovskaya), it all comes together.

It’s a movie about, friendship, family, mental illness, beauty and legacy – all communicated with a vision that stays with you. Beautifully crafted and composed, At Eternity’s Gate is a work of art itself.

At Eternity's Gate – the World Through van Gogh's Eyes