YouTube Documentary: "Vincent Van Gogh at the Borinage"



 

 

 

OK, this will be the weirdest Van Gogh documentary you will ever see, but if you get stoned on flu medication or have insomnia for a few days due to illness, then this is really trippy.  This film centers on Vincent's time as a missionary to impoverished minors at the Borinage in Belgium.  He was dismissed by his order for becoming as dirty and course as the local population.

As you will see, funding got cut off and production problems abounded, but the director was determined to finish the documentary.  That explains why Van Gogh is in period dress walking around modern London as cars go whizzing by.  This documentary did air on some European television channels.  I found it at (where else?) YouTube.  It's 53 minutes long and has a really good narrator.  Enjoy!

From the YouTube description:

Long lost documentary which I found back some days ago. I made this in 2000 and due to an argument with the production company it never made (reached) any festivals. It is about Van Gogh's time he spend in Belgium desperately longing to step in his father's footsteps to become a vicar, knowing he was born to be an artist.

The film was shown on Spanish, Italian, Maltese and Cypriotic television but has never been viewed in Belgium.

Director: klaus verscheure. Writer: Rene de Bok Editor: Jan Weynants Music: Frank Deruytter & Tony O'Malley