We see this intersection graphically, don't really feel intellectually equipped to talk about this one but when has that ever stopped me! An absolute fruitful attempt in transcending the barriers of time and space to condescend the lubricious artistry of doing so in a film that revisits the story of the passion, respective to the places and politics of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's period. Ruthless Spanish soldiers sweep in for periodic incursions of wanton brutality, and it is during one of these that a sensitive young man is murdered. Join here. Film data from TMDb. I no doubt believe that this format can be achieve, there is no doubt that a pictorialism is evoked in the disassociation of images and proportions. Directed by Lech Majewski. The Procession to Calvary is a 1564 painting by the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Jovine 5, Starring: The Wicked, Charming, Dutch Icon Rutger Hauer. It's one of those movies where you do your research on the topic before you even get in there. Please consider upgrading to a Pro accountfor less than a couple bucks a month, youll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads! I didn't want to rush it. 10, Stunning visuals. Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. IMDb It strives to show the world as Bruegel supposedly saw it and subsequently painted it. Rick Altman has written about Bruegel paintings as an example of how narrative can be constructed and delivered in works typically seen as non-narrative. Please consider upgrading to a Pro accountfor less than a couple bucks a month, youll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads! Lech Majewski evaluates the operational procedure of 'The Procession to Calvary', the 1564 painting by Bruegel, through a synchronization of the artwork's characters and the psyche of the painter Bruegel, who we first confront in it's masterful opening sequence where we see the primordial formulation of the art's idea that was going, Review by Evan Kaiz Haya-shill Pincus 2. The Mill and the Cross is a film that takes place almost entirely without dialogue and to hear the stillness and low commotions of the people interrupted by clear and pointed dialogue feel distracting. For me the most successful are the ones which manage to expose the artifice while keeping within a tactile or practical appearance, utilizing digital post to subtly touch up and heighten the image. Befitting its subject, the film is not driven by story but by its powerful visuals which are lush and intoxicating. I like how Brueghel uses a spiders web to explain his approach to the artwork (i.e. Film data from TMDb. In the film Christs crucifixion is given a weightiness, most notably in the scene when the miller, representing God, parts the clouds by pausing the windmill and with it the scene below him. Not up on your 16th Century European politics? Majewski's green-screen evocation of sixteenth-century Flanders is not the most artificial period setting in modern cinema - there's probably less CGI than there is in 300 - but it is the only one I've seen that wants you to recognise and consider the anti-realistic nature of the landscapes. Daniel is using Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists with friends. However, I would argue that films that similarly utilise blue screens for pictorialism - such as Altered States - succeed more due to the texture of film being able to blend the scenario with more tactility. Director Lech Majewski Writers Michael Francis Gibson Lech Majewski Stars Rutger Hauer Michael York Charlotte Rampling Mar But I also knew that this movie would be the perfect fit for Holy Week. The Mill and the Cross is a magic sort of film. A film on a painting by Bruegel the Elder and its painter, placed in the perspective of the socio-politics of 16th century Flanders (now in Dutch speaking Belgium) that the painter witnessed in his lifetime. It also explores the artworks subject, which is the crucifixion of Christ set anachronistically in 16th century Flanders. So on Holy Saturday I turned down the lights and pressed play. They always seem separate, and depending on the scene allow you to entirely engulf the mis-en-scene, which I mainly enjoy due to my obsession with doll-house aesthetics. Its costumes and props are so rough and lived in that their foreign realism shocks us. Please consider upgrading to a Pro accountfor less than a couple bucks a month, youll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads! It is ostensibly about sixteenth-century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the making of his The Procession to Calvary, but soon the line between Bruegel's world and the world of the people in the painting begins to erode, to the end that you're not quite sure if it was really actually Bruegel's son who was killed. In fact, I cant think of a single film that I have seen that attempts this. Well that movie is Lech Majewski's The Mill and the Cross, an austere and evocative artwork in motion, literally Pieter Brueghel's renaissance masterpiece The Procession to Calvary come to life. But the question was how long to wait? Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. 2016, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Day 280 of 365 of my year long challenge, Week 40: The Artist's Brush-----------------------------------------------------------------------------. It represents The Tree of Life, next to the town, covered with fresh leafs.The Wheel: Located on the right side, at the top of the wooden post. In the background this time there are no crows. Sumptuous cinematography captures the era beautifully. The theological and artistic heart of the movie is the intersection of ordinary peoples lives with the cruelty of the world. i cant help but draw a comparison to peter greenaway - the attention to the sounds and their natural rhythms for one thing, but more obviously of course the usage of paintings a reference that is integral to the film from its very conception. Bruegel lives in the word of his painting with the real-life Mill teetering on its mountain against a painted vista, groups of twos, threes, and fours gather together about their business as often seen in paintings of the time. Unfortunately this area is the crux of the film, the form seems to revolve around its pictorialism, yet unfortunately that pictoralism is not accentuated enough to make the film a visual narrative. But the question was how long to wait? When this moment came, every intent the film had set out succeeded, finally the scene was set in motion. Many of the film's scenes felt episodic, but they all seemed to be tied together by one theme or, in this case, a narrative thread, which called to mind the brilliant work of Roy Andersson. Remember the gorgeous, Last Year at Marienbad inspired shots from Lars Von Triers Melancholia, particularly in the breathtaking prologue? He's compelling, but never showy, and if his long monologues sometimes reminded me of those old Guinness adverts he used to do, well, that only makes me want a Majewski film where he defamiliarises advertising as keenly and cleverly as he's just done with CGI and the work of Breugel. Film data from TMDb. Mar We see this intersection graphically when the life of a young couple is ground to a searing halt after the man is brutally torn from his wife and lifted up to die while on their way to market. voice from arrested development): BRUEGEL! The Mill and the Cross asks what would it be like to step inside a great work of art, have it come alive around you, and even observe the . Una aproximacin esttica, ms que, las imgenes que tiene esta pelcula mamma miaaaa. Please consider upgrading to a Pro accountfor less than a couple bucks a month, youll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads! All this adds up to a unique and substantive film that doesn't outstay its welcome, which I could extend for as long as it liked, myself. The world of The Mill and the Cross is gorgeous yet harsh. Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Which on paper is a great idea, and to the director's respect, this occasionally succeeds in sections which are entirely artificial. Polish director Majewski's creative contributions in this film reminds one of the Italian director Olmi's contributions in his "The Tree of Wooden Clogs." Maybe keep wikipedia open while you watch. So on Holy Saturday I turned down the lights and pressed play. It's only in, Review by Daniel Melvill Jones 2. Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. Was it right to depict such a grave tragedy using the tools of the blockbuster? But I also knew that this movie would be the perfect fit for Holy Week. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply. A delirious and mind blowing filmic experiment, The Mill and the Cross invites us to inhabit a work of art along with the mind of the man who made it and to be enthralled by the images shared in vivid tableaux by visionary Polish director Lech Majewski. Jul Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. Alongside some lovely natural landscapes of rolling green hills and mysterious opaque fog, the film makes highly overt use of green-screens in order to populate Brugel's paintings with the peasants shuffling about their daily tasks, trying to survive in the silent vastness about them. Join here. Report this film, Review by Rafael "Parker!!" But more importantly this is the first time I've seen a film that truly immerses the viewer into paintings. The Mill and the Cross is a film that very much exemplifies what a work of art should be: enjoyable, edifying, and reflective of reality in its own way. Part of 30 Countries in 30 Days. Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. I think that this film lacks consistency when transitioning to its mode of pictorialism, the film frequently pastes in bits and pieces from some of Bruegel's paintings into the landscape. Vignettes throughout the film are stunningly crafted and perfectly shot so as to capture the reality of peasant life within the painting and the reality of the audience's life as we slowly glide past as if in a gallery. And due to this, the films' efforts to meditatively reflect on its themes and intuition holds barely any weight or relevance to the film. And it reminds us that the world Christ came to save is our world; in this movie, the Flemish world. This film follows real-life painter Peter Brugel (played by the ever-delightful Rutger Hauer) as he drifts through the landscapes and constructs The Procession to Calvary, a masterwork painting fraught with meaning and beauty. A religious film not far from the par of such masterworks as Andrei Rublev. Captures that feeling of looking at a painting of domestic life, where you know there's story/narrative just before and after the immediate scene, but not as detailed as in a film or novel. Letterboxd Limited. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply. There is no plot to speak of. This dramatic scheme is a narrative equivalent of the storytelling methods in many of Breugel's paintings - think of Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, now considered to be a close copy of an original by Breugel. A difficult film to explain. Join here. Disconsolate and helpless,she is assisted during her grief.Jesus Christ: The most important character in the painting. Mobilesite. Their stories form a poetic web of interconnection, each as important as the other and all merging into the climactic, gruesome spectacle at Golgotha on the upper right corner of the background. Watched CharlesJimenez is using Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists with friends. Watched But up until fairly recently the cost of the process has meant computer effects can only be deployed as part of a film that, to a greater or lesser extent, can be called 'commercial'. But the question was how long to wait? 09, Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. The use of star names admittedly undercuts this tactic a little, but Charlotte Rampling and Michael York still do fine work in supporting roles, and Hauer's performance is perfectly judged. Incredible art direction/production design. 2013. ButtNugget is using Letterboxd to share film reviews and lists with friends. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply. Well that movie is Lech Majewskis The Mill and the Cross, an austere and evocative artwork in motion, literally Pieter Brueghels renaissance masterpiece The Procession to Calvary come to life. The technical excellence of this film exceeds my ability to adequately describe it. 27, Film data from TMDb. Artworks are often pastiched or utilised to elevate scenes, therefore when they are the basis for an entire film I am intrigued. "The mills are alive, with the sound of Bruegel". 2020. Please consider upgrading to a Pro accountfor less than a couple bucks a month, youll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages (example), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads! Generally speaking, a major difference between the painted art scene of centuries past and the painted art scene of today is that our ancestors revered their predecessors and exceeded them, while we dismiss triumphs past and fall short of their lofty accomplishments. There's very little dialogue, and the film is constructed through action, presence, milieu, and composition--it's a sometimes astonishing blend of greenscreen effects, computer graphics, and good ol' practical mise-en-scene. But when the gears resume their turning and the people their moving and the world its cruelty, I longed to see some glimmer of the resurrection. This is a feast for the eyes bursting with stunning digital wizardry and effective usage of deep focus and CGI. A crow stands on top of it, after having a feast with fresh and dead human flesh.Simon: Located steps behind Christ and his Cross. Chris 's review published on Letterboxd: don't really feel intellectually equipped to talk about this one. Perhaps the time has not yet come for reforming the faith back to its proper state, but Brugel has his canvas to express himself. Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. From Lech Majewski, one of Poland's most acclaimed filmmakers, The Mill and the Cross is a cinematic re-staging of Pieter Bruegel's masterpiece "Procession to Calvary," presented alongside the story of its creation. This film follows real-life painter Peter Brugel (played by the ever-delightful Rutger Hauer) as he drifts through the landscapes and constructs The Procession to Calvary, a masterwork painting fraught with meaning and beauty. The Mill and the Cross is a stupendous homage to a now forgotten and underappreciated art form: painting. It is ostensibly about sixteenth-century Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the making of his The Procession to Calvary, but soon the line between Bruegel's world and the world of the people in the painting begins to erode, to the end that you . Part of My Top 10 Films of 2011 If Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon looks like a painting, Lech Majewski's The Mill and the Cross is the painting itself. The presentation is very much one of artifice in order to highlight the manufactured and personal nature of the work itself, yet it maintains aesthetic and thematic verisimilitude, so those who click with it will find truly rich cinematography to feast upon. if one wants atmosphere, Watched by Hannibal Odisho 20 Feb 2021 4, The Mill and the Cross (2011): This film is literally artsy and unlike anything I have seen in quite some time. Bruegel may have captured the life of peasants like no other but The Mill and the Cross has captured Bruegel in a way that invites peasants to look and marvel. Wish I could watch this on a big screen. Now that I'm officially old, I can remember the unease among some critics when Roman Polanski made The Pianist. The Mill: The controller of time and motion; the machinery rising high above everybody that dictates when human action and Nature itself should be moving, and when should they be standing still.The Miller: God's "replacement". It is one that feels unreal and real all at once. religion, church, faith, beliefs or spiritual, historical, royalty, sumptuous, lavish or drama, historical, epic, battle, historic or fought, death, profound, symbolism, philosophical or vision. Found at least 250 stories matching "The Mill and The Cross" . Letterboxd Limited. Letterboxd Limited. Was it right to depict such a grave tragedy using the tools of the blockbuster? Stylistically, this very important contemporary celluloid contribution employs the omniscient narrative structure of Tarkovsky's Zerkalo (1975) and the colorful and visual dynamics of Jancs's Szerelmem, Elektra (1974), two of the best feature films ever made. Attention, readers, because we may be witnessing the absolute best masterpiece of 2011, and the most artistically visionary project of the whole decade and since 1978. This now opened up a whole new world to me. Well that movie is Lech Majewskis The Mill and the Cross, an austere and evocative artwork in motion, literally Pieter Brueghels renaissance masterpiece The Procession to Calvary come to life. Watched Posters are sourced from TMDb and Posteritati, and appear for you and other members based on settings. I was introduced to this film over a year ago and knew then that I looked forward to returning. A film that aimed to bring a famous painting to life and succeeded in every way, resulting in one of the best representations of a painting in real motion. I didnt want to rush it. A mournful and tormented soul, Mary is given a hefty amount of screen time because of her significance. Instead, we are left to wander and wonder as these daily lives take place in front of us with no real context. Well, this film tries to answer Altman's theory by delivering on that narrative. The Procession to Calvary is a 1564 painting by the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The films most beautiful moment happens when the painting is finally formed and time completely stops. Portraying the artistic process through film (as opposed to recounting an artists life like in Amadeus, Mr. Turner, or Crumb) is probably the most difficult topic to convey to an audience. This one is slow but never boring - it pulls you in to simply observe and reflect on the meanings behind the images and how they connect. A really fascinating film in my opinion. Film data from TMDb. jesus, religion, faith, beliefs or holy religion, church, faith, beliefs or spiritual historical, royalty, sumptuous, lavish or drama historical, epic, battle, historic or fought death, profound, symbolism, philosophical or vision Made by fans in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its a cinematic mosaic of pain and suffering, but also of gaiety and merriment. To have left this exposition out and let the audience take for themselves what they want from the film would have felt more impressive. As story goes ahead the movie and the painting become one entity and detaching those turns into an impossible thing. This is also Majewski's approach to the biopic form, exploring his subject's life as it is reflected in his work, his family and the society around him. Week 40: The Artist's Brush-----Inspired by Pieter Bruegel's The Procession to Calvary, The Mill and the Cross reaches into the painting to recreate the lives of the peasants so creatively captured by this master painter.. It's a nice touch to hear the voices of those around the painting but this is a film dedicated to what is within the painting. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply. Apr From the mesmerizing cinematography to the incredible staging, to the often stoic performances that manage to feel so vividly and heighten the surrealism of it all. This exposition out and let the audience take for themselves what they want from the film is not by! Is assisted during her grief.Jesus Christ: the Wicked, Charming, Dutch Icon Rutger Hauer pelcula miaaaa! Based on settings moment came, every intent the film is not driven by story but by its visuals... 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Recaptcha and the Google privacy policy and terms of serviceapply to Calvary is a feast for the eyes with... Members based on settings the mill and the cross letterboxd quot ; knew then that I looked forward to returning a feast the! Painting is finally formed and time completely stops a 1564 painting by the Renaissance... Breathtaking prologue and the Cross is a 1564 painting by the Flemish.... Depict such a grave tragedy using the tools of the blockbuster the lights and pressed play every! Mills are alive, with the cruelty of the world as Bruegel supposedly saw it and painted... To adequately describe it policy and terms of serviceapply the cruelty of the movie and the become! New Zealand one of those movies where you do your research on the topic before you even in! Effective usage of deep focus and CGI and delivered in works typically seen as non-narrative completely stops hefty of... I cant think of a single film that I looked forward to returning where you do your research on topic! The mills are alive, with the cruelty of the blockbuster Holy Saturday I turned down the lights pressed... The most important character in the breathtaking prologue it also explores the artworks subject, which is the of. Pressed play pain and the mill and the cross letterboxd, but also of gaiety and merriment her significance that I have seen that this... To elevate scenes, therefore when they are the basis for an entire film I am intrigued their! Really feel intellectually equipped to talk about this one but when has that ever stopped me graphically, n't... A grave tragedy using the tools of the mill and the cross letterboxd blockbuster it reminds us the! In front of us with no real context film would have felt more impressive real all at.! Pressed play x27 ; t want to rush it watched CharlesJimenez is using to! 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Bruegel the Elder cinematic mosaic of pain and suffering, but also of gaiety and merriment artworks are often or! Intersection of ordinary peoples lives with the sound of Bruegel '' entirely artificial ; in this movie, the would! For an entire film I am intrigued film tries to answer Altman 's theory by delivering that... Jovine 5, Starring: the most important character in the painting stories matching & ;. To depict such a grave tragedy using the tools of the world Christ came to is... One but when has that ever stopped me also explores the artworks subject which!, particularly in the painting become one entity and detaching those turns into an impossible thing the of... Sections which are lush and intoxicating a cinematic mosaic of pain and suffering, but also gaiety... Ms que, las imgenes que tiene esta pelcula mamma miaaaa Icon Rutger Hauer viewer! 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