The Brutalist
In 2002, controversial film director Roman Polanski cast a relatively unknown actor named Adrien Brody in the lead part of his biographical drama, “The Pianist,” a Holocaust drama about Władysław Szpilman. Brody’s performance was magnetic and compelling on such a grand scale that he beat out the likes of Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis at the Academy Awards to capture the Best Actor award, the youngest person ever to do so in history. Now with Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” Brody once again portrays a Holocaust victim, and the result is nothing short of amazing.
The film, while not autobiographical in nature, tells the story of Laszlo Toth, a Jewish architect who is liberated from the horrific Buchenwald concentration camp sans his missing wife and niece. He makes his way to America in hopes of setting up a new life, yet the assimilation is not so simple. Culture clashes, antisemitism, and general post-war sentiment drive him to a life spiraling out of control.
Alessandro Nivola is the cousin we have hope for, but he cannot overcome the challenges presented by the hostilities directed at Toth. Underrated actor Guy Pearce shows up as an arrogant, wealthy industrialist magnate who envies Toth in many ways.
Corbet’s film has a rather weighty run-time of three hours and 35 minutes, which might have some potential viewers wondering if the plot is that compelling and if their bladders are that watertight. Even with this runtime, Corbet keeps the pacing in this film flowing at such a productive rate that no scene or soliloquy feels burned out or uninteresting. The audience is drawn to the inner strength of Toth and his dedication to creating architectural art in a world that so hated his existence. The breathtaking cinematography is further reason why Corbet’s film is not only masterful and worthy of appearing on so many critic film lists, but also contributes to the film’s 10 Academy Award nominations. More than that, this is a film about the hope of one man who turns so much hate into something more that is everlasting.
No Other Land
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, “No Other Land” is one of the strongest films I have ever seen on the subject of unlikely friendships. Directed by Palestinian activist and attorney Basel Adra, a resident of the Masafer Yatta area of the West Bank where he grew up, Adra aspired to be a filmmaker as a young child. Today, Israeli occupations have forced the Masafer Yatta residents to suffer eviction and the destruction of their own homes for the sake of the religious-body politic. Adra meets with an Israeli journalist named Yuval Abraham, who challenges the status quo of the Israeli military quite frequently. Tragic and unfortunate as the displacement of Adra’s home community is, I found myself drawn more to the emotional friendship bond that he shared with Yuval. Here, these men of two radically different faiths should hate one another, yet they do not. Together they work to fight for the community and capture one of the rarest forms of West Bank displacement allowed to be seen in film. “No Other Land” is a documentary made with love and shown with great hope.
In 2002, controversial film director Roman Polanski cast a relatively unknown actor named Adrien Brody in the lead part of his biographical drama, “The Pianist,” a Holocaust drama about Władysław Szpilman. Brody’s performance was magnetic and compelling on such a grand scale that he beat out the likes of Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis at the Academy Awards to capture the Best Actor award, the youngest person ever to do so in history. Now with Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” Brody once again portrays a Holocaust victim, and the result is nothing short of amazing.
The film, while not autobiographical in nature, tells the story of Laszlo Toth, a Jewish architect who is liberated from the horrific Buchenwald concentration camp sans his missing wife and niece. He makes his way to America in hopes of setting up a new life, yet the assimilation is not so simple. Culture clashes, antisemitism, and general post-war sentiment drive him to a life spiraling out of control.
Alessandro Nivola is the cousin we have hope for, but he cannot overcome the challenges presented by the hostilities directed at Toth. Underrated actor Guy Pearce shows up as an arrogant, wealthy industrialist magnate who envies Toth in many ways.
Corbet’s film has a rather weighty run-time of three hours and 35 minutes, which might have some potential viewers wondering if the plot is that compelling and if their bladders are that watertight. Even with this runtime, Corbet keeps the pacing in this film flowing at such a productive rate that no scene or soliloquy feels burned out or uninteresting. The audience is drawn to the inner strength of Toth and his dedication to creating architectural art in a world that so hated his existence. The breathtaking cinematography is further reason why Corbet’s film is not only masterful and worthy of appearing on so many critic film lists, but also contributes to the film’s 10 Academy Award nominations. More than that, this is a film about the hope of one man who turns so much hate into something more that is everlasting.
No Other Land
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, “No Other Land” is one of the strongest films I have ever seen on the subject of unlikely friendships. Directed by Palestinian activist and attorney Basel Adra, a resident of the Masafer Yatta area of the West Bank where he grew up, Adra aspired to be a filmmaker as a young child. Today, Israeli occupations have forced the Masafer Yatta residents to suffer eviction and the destruction of their own homes for the sake of the religious-body politic. Adra meets with an Israeli journalist named Yuval Abraham, who challenges the status quo of the Israeli military quite frequently. Tragic and unfortunate as the displacement of Adra’s home community is, I found myself drawn more to the emotional friendship bond that he shared with Yuval. Here, these men of two radically different faiths should hate one another, yet they do not. Together they work to fight for the community and capture one of the rarest forms of West Bank displacement allowed to be seen in film. “No Other Land” is a documentary made with love and shown with great hope.
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