Loving Vincent (2017)

While renowned for its breathtaking, hand-painted animation that brings Vincent van Gogh's art to life, *Loving Vincent* is fundamentally a compelling cinematic mystery. The film thrusts protagonist Armand Roulin into the role of reluctant detective, tasked not just with delivering Vincent van Gogh's final letter, but with uncovering the truth behind the enigmatic circumstances of the artist's death. Officially ruled a suicide, Armand quickly encounters conflicting testimonies and unsettling doubts among those who knew Van Gogh in his final days, transforming a simple errand into a profound investigation into a potential murder or, at the very least, a deeply misunderstood tragedy. The film excels as a mystery by constructing its narrative entirely around the interrogation of witnesses and the piecing together of fragmented, often contradictory, accounts. As Armand sifts through the perspectives of villagers, doctors, and the artist's acquaintances, each interview is a clue, a potential red herring, or a piece of a larger, tragic puzzle. The audience is placed firmly in the detective's shoes, challenging them to discern truth from speculation and navigate a labyrinth of unreliable narrators, all while trying to understand Vincent's emotional state and the events leading up to the fatal shot. Its ambiguous, thought-provoking conclusion, which never offers a neatly packaged answer, solidifies its place among the best mystery movies that explore the elusive nature of truth.