美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Loving Vincent' Paints Van Gogh Into A Murder Mystery

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

A new movie looks at artist Vincent Van Gogh in a startling way. It uses thousands of oil paintings to create a unique form of animation¹ and a murder mystery. The film is called "Loving Vincent." NPR critic Bob Mondello says that when it comes to these filmmakers, it seems love knows no bounds.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE²: It's 1891, a year after Vincent Van Gogh has died, and a postman still has an undelivered letter the artist wrote to his brother Theo. Delivering it will turn out to be tough, as the postman's son discovers when he tries.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVING VINCENT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) I'm afraid you'll never deliver that letter to Theo Van Gogh.

DOUGLAS BOOTH: (As Armand Roulin) Oh, I see. Well, how come?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Six months after we buried Vincent, Theo was dead, too.

MONDELLO: That makes things more complicated, but the quest continues.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVING VINCENT")

BOOTH: (As Armand Roulin) There is this doctor who I believe is the person to entrust³ the letter to.

MONDELLO: That would be the doctor who treated Vincent at an asylum⁴. Arriving in Auvers, the postman's son finds plenty of folks who remember the artist, not always fondly.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVING VINCENT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #1: (As character) You're not going to stir things up again, are you? We've had quite enough weeping over that nutcase in this household.

MONDELLO: All of this is about what you'd expect of a film - in this case an animated⁵ film - that means to make a mystery of Van Gogh's suicide.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVING VINCENT")

BOOTH: (As Armand Roulin) Why didn't he just pick up the gun and finish the job?

MONDELLO: But if you're picturing animation in the Disney drawn⁶ or Pixar computerized senses of the word, you'll need to think again. In "Loving Vincent," it's as if the paint has leapt directly from Van Gogh's canvases to the screen and then started moving. The credits begin with what look like broad brush strokes being painted on glass, thick oil paint, blue-green swirls⁷ and yellow smears⁸ that gradually resolve into a familiar image - the moon glowing in the middle of one of Van Gogh's most famous canvases, "Starry⁹ Night," surrounded by roiling¹⁰ clouds and a slender cypress¹¹ tree on the left. There's a church spire¹² just to the right of the tree. And as the camera zooms¹³ in, it turns out to be part of a town where we hear a fight break out.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVING VINCENT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, groaning).

MONDELLO: From "Starry Night" to fight night, a striking introduction to a film that is about to provide a tour through many of Van Gogh's most famous works - rooms in taverns¹⁴, crows flying over wheat fields, portraits come to life talking a mile a minute.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LOVING VINCENT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS #2: (As character) You could set your watch by him. Painting from 8 until 5, you'd think he was going off to a regular job.

MONDELLO: Directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman first shot their story as a live-action film with actors in costume on sets that look like specific Van Gogh paintings. You'll likely recognize many of them. Then the filmmakers employed more than a hundred artists to hand-paint each frame's image in oils, matching Van Gogh's style and brush strokes. Once a frame was painted it was photographed, and then the artist could create the next frame by painting over the parts that needed to move.

(SOUNDBITE OF CROWS CAWING)

MONDELLO: The effect is remarkable¹⁵. Hand-painted animation turns out to be very different from hand-drawn, as in Disney films where lines merge¹⁶ smoothly¹⁷ as figures move. Here, water clots¹⁸ and gushes¹⁹. A quizzical expression flickers²⁰ into anger around the eyes. And when a mysterious figure zips through a garden, he leaves a physical imprint²¹, thick oil impasto on the painted grass.

Altogether, some 65,000 oil paintings were created for "Loving Vincent," which speaks to the passion the filmmakers had for their subject. Their story isn't quite as compelling as their execution. But in the end, when images of the performers are juxtaposed with Van Gogh's original portraits and with the screen versions they inspired, you will marvel²² at the art in this labor²³-intensive labor of love. I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STARRY STARRY NIGHT")

LIANNE LA HAVAS: (Singing) Starry, starry night.

1 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 swirls   

n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Swirls of smoke rose through the trees. 树林中升起盘旋的青烟。 来自辞典例句
• On reaching the southeast corner of Himalaya-Tibet, It'swirls cyclonically across the Yunnan Plateau. 在到达喜马拉雅--西藏高原东南角处，它作气旋性转向越过云南高原。 来自辞典例句

8 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

9 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

10 roiling   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的现在分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• Now, all that could be seen was the roiling, lead--coloured sea, with its thunderously heaving waves. 狂风挟着暴雨如同弥漫大雾，排挞呼号，在海上恣意奔驶。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Rather, it is a roiling, seething cauldron of evanescent particles. 相反，它是一个不断翻滚、剧烈沸腾的大锅，内有逐渐消失的粒子。 来自互联网

11 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

12 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。

13 zooms   

n.嗡嗡声( zoom的名词复数 )；隆隆声；（车辆等）疾驰的声音；变焦

参考例句：

• A sneeze zooms out of your mouth at over 600 m.p.h. 从你口中打出的喷嚏速度可达每小时600里。 来自互联网
• When the camera zooms in, the whole world watches out. 当镜头对准（汶川），全世界都在关注。 来自互联网

14 taverns   

n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They ain't only two taverns. We can find out quick." 这儿只有两家客栈，会弄明白的。” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Maybe ALL the Temperance Taverns have got a ha'nted room, hey, Huck?" 也许所有的禁酒客栈都有个闹鬼的房间，喂，哈克，你说是不是？” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

16 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

17 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

18 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 gushes   

n.涌出，迸发( gush的名词复数 )v.喷，涌( gush的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• The stream gushes forth from the rock. 一股小溪从岩石中涌出来。 来自辞典例句
• Fuel gushes into the combustion chamber. 燃料喷进燃烧室。 来自辞典例句

20 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

21 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

22 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

23 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。