As a devoted cinephile who has been following Brady Corbet‘s career since his debut at the Venice Film Festival with “The Childhood of a Leader,” I find myself utterly captivated by the anticipation surrounding his latest masterpiece, “The Brutalist.” This film is not just another historical drama; it’s a testament to Corbet’s relentless pursuit of artistic vision and his unwavering dedication to storytelling that spans across decades.
There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Brady Corbet’s epic historical drama, “The Brutalist,” at the Venice Film Festival. The film, featuring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce, is yet to have its official premiere on Sunday night, but the enthusiastic applause and intense interest it generated during its first press screenings on the Lido has many festival attendees believing it could be the frontrunner for this year’s Golden Lion award.
The movie spans 3.5 hours with a short break of ten minutes in between, and it’s filled with deep themes and intellectual depth suitable for its topic – the historical hardships and artistic ingenuity that spawned the iconic mid-century American Brutalist architectural masterpieces.
The movie titled “The Brutalist” narrates the story of László Tóth (Brody), a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who immigrates to the United States in 1947 in pursuit of the “American dream.” Struggling initially with poverty, he eventually secures a contract from an enigmatic and affluent client, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Pearce), whose patronage shapes the next three decades of Tóth’s life. In this film, Jones portrays Erzsébet, Tóth’s wife, while Joe Alwyn plays the volatile son of the wealthy industrialist. Corbet and his spouse, Norwegian filmmaker and actress Mona Fastvold, collaborated on scriptwriting for the movie.
Despite being thoroughly researched, “The Brutalist” is a work of imagined events. Corbet mentioned that he sought an example of one of the remarkable Bauhaus architects who got entangled in the chaos of war but managed to restart their life in America. To aid him, he collaborated with French architect and historian of architecture, Jean-Louis Cohen, who unfortunately passed away in August 2023.
Corbet expressed disappointment, stating there were no examples of Bauhaus architects’ future designs, which he found particularly unsettling given their immense talent. He lamented that many skilled architects never had the chance to showcase their vision. Unfortunately, this movie is a work of fiction, so it presents an alternative history. This is the only means for Corbet to explore and understand the past.
Corbet said the movie is dedicated to those artists who “didn’t get to realize their visions.”
A true labor of love and a testament to the director’s unwavering vision, this movie was crafted over more than seven years, with numerous setbacks and financial hurdles along the way. It was filmed on 70mm VistaVision film stock from the mid-century, which, due to its stunning retro aesthetic, necessitated transporting 26 heavy reels (approximately 300 pounds each) to Italy for the movie’s global debut at its premiere.
Corbet admitted he intentionally drew inspiration from old movies. “We studied the dance sequences in films like Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’ and many others filmed in VistaVision,” the director explained. “Back then, the camera was larger than it is today, which influenced the overall film composition. So, we made an effort to limit our camera work – even though we could use a Steadicam and have advanced technology at our disposal – to create a cinematic feel reminiscent of the past.”
Guy Pearce expressed that working with an old-fashioned film camera, despite its noisy nature, was surprisingly invigorating and thrilling. For individuals who have transitioned from the film era to the digital one, it’s delightful to collaborate with equipment that clearly operates and has a defined lifespan, such as a film canister that lasts only 10 minutes or so. This creates an organic process that fits well within the production, making us feel like active contributors to this unique method of filmmaking.
During various points of the press conference, Corbet found himself becoming quite emotional as he talked about the challenges in creating The Brutalist, and standing firm on his artistic vision for the film.
“The director expressed that creating this film was extremely challenging, as they had been laboring on it for seven years and each day seemed crucial for nearly a decade. With strong emotions, they are thankful to everyone who spent three and a half hours watching it last night and will do so again today.”
Regarding the movie’s complex narrative and long duration, Corbet observed that “this film breaks all the rules we’re supposedly not supposed to break,” but found it somewhat peculiar to discuss its length negatively.
He pointed out that evaluating a book based on its page count, whether it’s 700 pages or 100 pages, is like comparing apples and oranges. For him, what truly matters is the quantity of the story being told, regardless of whether it’s a short novella or a multi-volume epic. In his view, the length could potentially be 45 minutes for their next project.
He noted that “there are many stories that cannot be told in Hollywood,” noting that the core story of the movie is “about a character that flees fascism only to encounter capitalism.”
The premiere of “The Brutalist” in Venice signals a homecoming for Corbet, as he previously debuted his first film, “The Childhood of a Leader,” there and won the esteemed event’s award for best debut film. He subsequently came back with the film “Vox Lux,” which featured Natalie Portman and Jude Law and was screened in the festival’s principal competition.
Corbet commenced his press conference by expressing gratitude towards the Venice Festival, acknowledging that their support allowed his films to become a reality when it seemed unlikely.
At the end of the press conference, he expressed gratitude towards his wife and co-screenwriter Fastvold. He acknowledged that they had collaborated on writing this movie and producing it together, and stated that she had been supportive even when he could be challenging to work with.
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2024-09-01 13:55