Oscar bait "The Brutalist" in Venice Powerful film epic about the Holocaust and the American Dream
Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones find themselves in America after fleeing Germany.
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
The American actor Adrien Brody plays the Jewish architect László Tóth. He survives the Holocaust and emigrates to the USA in pursuit of the "American dream".
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
However, the journey proves to be difficult: he suffers poverty and humiliation.
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
This is the second time Brody has played a Holocaust survivor. The first time was in "The Pianist" (2002).
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
The drama is already said to be a hot Oscar contender.
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones find themselves in America after fleeing Germany.
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
The American actor Adrien Brody plays the Jewish architect László Tóth. He survives the Holocaust and emigrates to the USA in pursuit of the "American dream".
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
However, the journey proves to be difficult: he suffers poverty and humiliation.
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
This is the second time Brody has played a Holocaust survivor. The first time was in "The Pianist" (2002).
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
The drama is already said to be a hot Oscar contender.
Image: Brookstreet Pictures
Brady Corbet's new film "The Brutalist" has all the necessary ingredients to play a formative role at the upcoming Oscars: an Adrien Brody, a Felicity Jones and a Guy Pearce in absolute top form.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Brady Corbet's epic drama "The Brutalist" is about a Jewish Hungarian who flees to the USA during the Holocaust and lives the American Dream as an architect.
- Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce all astound with stunningly good performances and are likely to have secured their Oscar nominations.
- With a running time of 215 minutes, the film demands a lot of stamina, but justifies its length with its epic storytelling, its magnificent acting ensemble and the impressive visual realization.
The journalists were amazed when, about two hours into the press screening of "The Brutalist" in Venice, a family photo of the protagonists suddenly appeared on the screen with the caption INTERMISSION. What's going on? Is director Brady Corbet playing a joke? Is he playing with the audience? There are usually never any breaks at festival screenings - especially not at press screenings. Brady Corbet doesn't make conventional films. He has a penchant for the eccentric, the controversial and even the experimental. His first two directorial works "The Childhood of a Leader" with Robert Pattinson and "Vox Lux" with Natalie Portman have proven this.
About the author: Gianluca Izzo
Gianluca Izzo is reporting directly from the Venice Film Festival 2024. He has regularly attended the renowned festivals in Cannes, Venice and Berlin in recent years and worked in the film industry himself for several years. Today he works for blue Entertainment in program planning.
The fact that he now allows himself this 20-minute interruption during the first screenings of his film is also a statement: "Look here and take a deep breath. This is a monument of a movie - an epic story! I am creating a monument for eternity."
A deep fall
The pause also marks a break in the narrative. It is the moment before the Jewish Hungarian László Tóth (Adrien Brody) finally meets his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) again after his Holocaust escape to the USA.
During the Second World War, László fled to Pennsylvania and found shelter with his cousin Attila. Through him, he meets the son of the influential entrepreneur Harrison Lee Van Buren. And because László was a respected architect in his home country, Van Buren's son asks for his help. He wants to have a state-of-the-art new library built for his father as a surprise. However, Van Buren is anything but enthusiastic when he sees the construction for the first time.
What's more, Attila's wife suddenly no longer wants László in the house, whereupon he ends up on the street and becomes addicted to heroin. Fortunately for him, his architectural work has nevertheless made an impression. Van Buren visits him in person and has big plans for László. He is given accommodation on his estate and asked to manage a huge building project for him. When his long-lost wife Erzsébet finally arrives, he is initially delighted. But in the meantime, they have both experienced a lot and their reunion turns out to be more complicated than expected.
Strong performance from the cast
Everything about Corbet's film feels epic, not just the story, which spans several decades. The phenomenal camera work shows completely different, varied settings with magnificent images. The film music is epochal, sublime and always uplifting. And last but not least, the actors shine with astonishingly good performances and almost rise above themselves.
Adrien Brody speaks convincing Hungarian and English with a Hungarian accent and makes the audience forget that he is actually acting here and that this famous architect never even existed. The same goes for Felicity Jones. And Guy Pearce, as an Australian, plays an American tycoon straight out of a picture book, which is always good for a laugh. He calls the conversations with László "intellectually stimulating".
As epic and outstanding as all the facets of the film may be ... with its extensive story and eternally long running time, "The Brutalist" is anything but light fare. It also takes effort and stamina to experience this movie. "Experience" in the truest sense of the word: "The Brutalist" is an experience and creates a monument for eternity.
"The Brutalist" does not yet have a release date in Swiss cinemas.
