Painting with Light: China’s Van Goghs
This engaging and moving 2016 documentary by Yu Haibo and Yu Tianqi Kiki follows Chinese painter-worker Zhao Xiaoyong, who mimics the work of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh to make a living. As he traces Van Gogh’s footsteps through Amsterdam, Paris, Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise, the Hollywood Reporter observes: " China's Van Goghs doesn't simply dwell on the differences between these 21st-century Chinese workers and the 19th-century Dutch maestro; its insight is that they are kindred spirits separated merely by time, geography and social class. Veering sharply away from the stereotype of Chinese laborers as a faceless mass seeking a better quality of life, China's Van Goghs explores their desire for spiritual fulfillment, too."