"The Brutalist," a post-war epic weaving the tale of a Holocaust survivor's arduous journey to reconstruct a life amidst the American landscape, stands as a fantastical narrative, yet filmmaker Brady Corbet harbors a wistful wish for its reality. "This film embodies the tangible scars of the 20th century's traumas," Corbet mused on Sunday at the prestigious Venice Film Festival, his voice laced with reverence. "It's a tribute to the artists whose visions were forever silenced."
Inspired in part by Jean-Louis Cohen's poignant tome, "Architecture in Uniform," the cinematic masterpiece, led by Adrien Brody's captivating portrayal of Hungarian architect László Tóth, premiered to the world on that sunlit afternoon. Spanning the expanse of decades, "The Brutalist" chronicles Tóth's relentless pursuit of artistic expression in the aftermath of war, with Felicity Jones portraying his devoted wife, Erzsébet. Amidst the shadows of poverty, Tóth's fortunes take a turn when a wealthy industrialist, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), offers him a life-altering contract. The ensemble cast also shines brightly with Joe Alwyn and Alessandro Nivola.
Brody, deeply connected to the character, revealed a personal resonance, stating, "There was an instant bond and comprehension I felt for this role. My mother, the photographer Sylvia Plachy, was a Hungarian immigrant who fled in 1956 during the anti-Soviet uprising, seeking to rebuild her life as an artist. Despite its fictional nature, this story feels achingly real to me, and that authenticity is paramount in my portrayal."
Clocking in at an epic 215 minutes, with a thoughtful 15-minute intermission, and presented in the majestic 70mm format (captured in Vista Vision), "The Brutalist" arrived in Venice amidst towering expectations. Critics hailed its audacious scope and Brody's towering performance, while the choice of 70mm itself seemed a daring declaration for an indie film without U.S. distribution—a format often reserved for cinematic titans like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve.
With sunglasses shielding his eyes, Corbet spoke emotionally about the film, a labor of love spanning seven years. "This film defies all the conventions we're told we can't breach," he declared, dismissing runtime debates as mere trivialities. "I've delved into profound novellas and multi-volume masterpieces; perhaps my next endeavor will be a concise 45-minute gem. Cinema, as Harmony Korine once eloquently put it, is still in the throes of birth. I couldn't agree more."
In 2018, Corbet brought "Vox Lux," a polarizing tale of a pop star haunted by a school shooting, to Venice, following his earlier triumph with "The Childhood of a Leader." An actor as well as a filmmaker, Corbet penned the script alongside his filmmaker wife, Mona Fastvold ("The World to Come"). He expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Venice Film Festival for its unwavering support. "When others turned a blind eye to these films, this festival stood by me, making my cinematic dreams a reality," he said, his words echoing with sincerity.
As the festival progresses, with glamorous premieres featuring the likes of Angelina Jolie ("Maria"), Nicole Kidman ("Babygirl"), Cate Blanchett ("Disclaimer"), and Jude Law ("The Order"), "The Brutalist" stands tall in competition, a testament to the resilience of art and the human spirit.
