Introduced by Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s great-granddaughter, Sophie Renoir, the documentary Lasting Impressions, currently playing at IMAX Melbourne, is a beautiful tribute to some of the greatest artists this world has seen.
The film is directed by Dylan Pearce, a Canadian Screen Award nominee who has worked with three-dimensional filmmaking prior to Lasting Impressions, winning the Lumiere Award for Director/Producer for his feature film, 40 Below and Falling.
Lasting Impressions is a visually stunning homage to the featured artists. Featuring over 100 works, the documentary highlights paintings from such luminaries as Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley, Georges Seurat, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne, Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Jean Francois-Raffaelli, Henri Rousseau and Georges Seurat. Some of the instantly recognisable artworks featured include Monet’s The Water Lily Pond, Degas’ The Dance Class and van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Sophie Renoir’s introductory comments create a personal connection that echoes throughout the entirety of the film, with the appreciation of the featured artists established at the very beginning of the experience.
The three-dimensional effects and directorial decisions of Lasting Impressions allows the viewer to feel as though they are truly inside each artwork. Through animated movement in the paintings – including a slight motion in the skirts of Degas’ ballet dancers, leaves blowing across Manet’s landscapes or the water rippling across Monet’s Water Lilies collection – a heightened sense of reality is created.
As well as movement in the paintings themselves, the camera’s panning and the opportunity to view the works at such scale on the IMAX screen allow the fine brushstrokes characteristic of Impressionism to be seen at a close level. The intensive labour and care put into each painting can really be felt by witnessing the minutiae of the works in detail.
Another remarkable aspect of the film is its use of music, which is perfectly aligned with the artworks and admitably captures the mood of each selection. Many spectacular orchestra performances from Claude Debussy, commonly referred to as an ‘Impressionist composer’ are played. There’s also music from Nana Mouskouri, as well as many more beautifully composed and performed pieces.
One section particularly stands out: a beautiful tribute to van Gogh featuring many of the Dutch artist’s spectacular paintings, including Starry Night and numerous self portraits. This section, which is accompanied by Don McLean’s powerful song, ‘Vincent’ (sung by Adam Fisher) is particularly moving and creates an overpoweringly melancholy atmosphere – the tragedy of Van Gogh’s life juxtaposed with the beauty of his artwork.
Read: Exhibition review: Helle Cook, Nordic Light – Beyond Horizons, Grey Street Gallery
Lasting Impressions provides an alternative experience to viewing these paintings in a typical exhibition format. With a 45-minute run time, the film is the perfect length to be satisfying rather than overwhelming or boring.
Bringing together the signature works of so many Impressionist painters, combined with musical compositions and movement within and through the paintings, Dylan Pearce’s film is an immersive experience that honours the beauty of these artworks and the artists who created them.
Lasting Impressions
IMAX Melbourne
Director: Dylan Pearce
Producer: Dylan Pearce, Andrew W. Scholotiuk, Chase Fullen, Ed Kasses
Executive Producer: Joyce Green, Judson Green, Ed Kasses
Featuring the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley, Georges Seurat, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne, Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Jean Francois-Raffaelli, Henri Rousseau and Georges Seurat
Lasting Impressions is screening at IMAX until 17 January 2025
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