Just for Life

Part of the Special Series SCHINKEN

SCHINKEN Autumn 2025

In LUST FOR LIFE, Vincente Minnelli devotes himself to one of the most impressive artist portraits in film history—the tormented, passionate life of Vincent van Gogh. Based on Irving Stone’s biographical novel, the film does not present the image of a divine genius, but rather a man torn apart, who in his attempt to create beauty repeatedly fails because of his environment—and himself. In Kirk Douglas’s performance, marked by enormous physical presence and psychological depth, emerges a Van Gogh of tragic authenticity.

The film follows Van Gogh from his early attempt to lead a meaningful life as a preacher among Belgian miners, through his artistic development in Paris and Arles, to the dark phases of illness that increasingly permeated his work and thinking. In his relationship with Paul Gauguin (Anthony Quinn), not only does artistic friction culminate, but also the question of reconciling art, friendship, and madness.

One of Minnelli’s best pictures, a visually stunning portrait of Van Gogh, splendidly played by Kirk Douglas.
— EmanuelLevy.com