Cezanne et Moi (May 5th, 6th, and 7th at the Cleveland Museum of Art Morley Lecture Hall)

[CEZANNE ET MOI screens Friday May 5th at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm, Saturday May 6th at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm, and Sunday May 7th at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art Morley Lecture Hall.]

Review by Zoe Brown

Nineteenth-century France was an important period of the art world. From the romantic art movement to impressionism, and post-impressionism, and finally modern art, this period saw a shift in the way artists went about their craft. Underlying the main focus of Cezanne and Zola’s friendship, Danièlle Thompson’s CEZANNE ET MOI gives us a glimpse into the changing path of painting in France during the 19th century.

More than art history though, the film follows the friendship of the artists - painter Paul Cézanne (Guillaume Gallienne) and writer Emile Zola (Guillaume Canet) - from boyhood to their last days. The best moments of the film for me included scenes of their boyhood jaunts in Aix-en-Provence, France, with their other childhood companion, Baptistin Baille (Pierre Yvon). These scenes helped to establish a sense of their devotion to each other and what they referred to several times throughout the film as a brotherly genius. It also depicted how different their backgrounds were, Cezanne coming from wealth with Zola being less privileged. Of course, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the scenery and how beautiful Aix-en-Provence was.

Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh (April 27th and 30th at the Cleveland Museum of Art)

[VINCENT: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF VINCENT VAN GOH screens Sunday April 27th at 1:30 pm and Wednesday April 30th at 7 pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art)

Review by Chip Karpus

This 1987 documentary from Australian filmmaker Paul Cox ties in the with the new Vincent Van Gogh exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art (credit where credit is due, however; the Toledo Museum of Art had a show starring the culty French Impressionist about a dozen years ago). Cox, who would later give the same sort of treatment to NIJINSKY: THE DIARIES OF VASLAV NIJINSKY, tells the story of Van Gogh's life through his own words and pictures.

The wall-to-wall narration, bracingly read by thespian John Hurt, is taken entirely from Van Gogh's letters, mostly to his brother Theo (although there is included the momentous letter asking fellow impressionist Paul Gauguin to move in with him at Arles).