History can sometimes be just a lifeless and boring sequence of events, even the history of such a supposedly-inspiring subject as art. However, when those events are brought to life by people’s experiences of that time, the living conditions and feelings rather than just a list of dates, the study of history can come to life.

The movie Vincent and Theo helps the audience to live out the lives of the characters together with them. It is an extremely emotional film that tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theodore. As character Dr. Paul Gachet, says “This man is not sick. He’s an artist. We, the rest of us, are the sick ones. We are not artists. We’re just people. Working people, boring people, just people.” The doctor did not actually believe his own words, but he unknowingly pinpointed the truth about artists being misunderstood and underappreciated by common people.

As an artist, I understand fully. Nowadays people, just like people back then, don’t want to accept us for who we are. They judge what they see on the outside and believe what they want for the inside. As time passes on, though, many young artists continue to look to Van Gogh as inspiration.