Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti (French: Gauguin: Voyage de Tahiti) is a French biopic film directed by Édouard Deluc and starring Vincent Cassel. It was released in 2017.
It loosely depicts the self-exile of 19th century French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin (Cassel) in Tahiti, French Polynesia. He seeks new life experiences there, and there's particular focus on his relationship with a local woman named Tehura.
Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti provides examples of the following tropes:
- Arranged Marriage: A version of it happens with Tehura's parents, who leave her entirely free to choose to be with Gauguin or not at first in addition to asking him if he wants to be with her, and warning him — if she's not happy with him after a Moon cycle, she'll be free to leave him.
- Artistic License – History:
- Gauguin wasn't a Starving Artist anymore by the time he left France for Polynesia, he had managed to sell a number of his paintings whereas it's said he hasn't sold any in the film. His disillusion with bleak modernity in France in the late 19th century is still part of his motivations to go at the other side of the world in the film, that said.
- Tehura was mentioned by Gauguin in his writings, but she might not have existed at all. Some scholars have speculated that Gauguin made her an amalgamation of several girls he was involved with.
- Speaking of which, Gauguin had, ahem, relations with Tahitian teens or preteens (which causes controversy pretty much anytime there's an exhibition of his works of art these days), and these are not depicted (for understandable reasons).
- Awful Wedded Life: Gauguin's obsession with his art ultimately destroys his two marriages, both in France and in Tahiti.
- Bilingual Dialogue: Gauguin learns the Tahitian language to communicate with the locals and Tehura, who also progressively understands French.
- Born in the Wrong Century: Gauguin is fed up with his Starving Artist lifestyle and the modernity of 1890s France in general (which he perceives as bleak), and wants to move to Tahiti to experience something else, closer to nature.
- Downer Ending: Gauguin's marriage to Tehura ends up unhappy, especially for her, and he returns to France. The ending narration mentions his death in extreme poverty in 1903.
- Eccentric Artist: Gauguin is persuaded of being a great artist and has neglected pretty much everything else to pursue his dreams of recognition.
- Gay Paree: Gauguin and his artist friends hang out at a cabaret in Paris as part of their "bohemian" lifestyle, complete with wine, dances and topless women. But even that isn't enough to Gauguin to escape the negative feelings he has about where the modern world in France is going and he then decides to go to Tahiti.
- Good Parents: Tehura's parents think about an Arranged Marriage between her and Gauguin a very short time after welcoming him, but they want to make sure she'll be happy with him, and ask her if she wants it in the first place.
- The Muse: Tehura quickly becomes Gauguin's muse and the model of many of his drawings and paintings.
- Parental Neglect: Gauguin fathered children with Mette and hasn't wanted to do anything else than painting to provide for them, which wasn't exactly a successful endeavour. They didn't starve because Mette's family financially helped her.
- Regional Riff: There's Tahitian chants whenever Tehura goes to the mass, and some of them in the soundtrack in some scenes in which Gauguin bonds with the locals.
- Second Love: Tehura to Gauguin. His Danish wife dropped him once he decided to leave France for Polynesia.
- Starving Artist:
- Gauguin and some other artist friends of his are clearly broke at the beginning of the film.
- Things aren't that much better for Gauguin in Tahiti after a while, so he helps a group of fishermen to provide food to his new wife and himself.
- Taking the Kids: Gauguin's Danish wife Mette has enough of him not being able to provide for their children, refuses to follow him in Polynesia and leaves him, taking the kids with her.
- Tragic Stillbirth: Tehura has a miscarriage at one point, which adds to her growing unhappiness with Gauguin.
