"The Brutalist" Director Brady Corbet Captures the Power of Architecture with VistaVision [Director's Interview Vol. 474]

Following last year's Oppenheimer , another monumental work that will shake up the world of cinema has been born. This is the 36-year-old talented director Brady Corbet's third feature film, the spectacular 215-minute new film Brutalist, shot in VistaVision. It depicts the extraordinary life story of a Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) who gained attention for his Brutalist architectural style, but lost everything in the war and emigrated from Hungary to the United States in the 1950s. We spoke to director Corbet about this film, who has brought us images that convey the charm of majestic architecture and a wonderful ensemble of actors while incorporating a variety of themes such as the scars of war, discrimination against immigrants, the illusion of the Hidden Figures Dream, and the evils of capitalism.

"Brutalist" Synopsis

Talented Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tod (Adrien Brody) survived the Holocaust during World War II, but was forced to be separated from his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zofia (Raffey Cassidy). To start a new life with his family, László emigrated to Pennsylvania, USA, where he met wealthy and prominent businessman Harrison (Guy Pearce). After learning of László Tod's brilliant track record in Hungary, Harrison recognized László's talent and commissioned him to design and build a chapel with all the necessary facilities in exchange for his family's early immigration to America. However, many obstacles stand in the way of design work in America, where the culture and rules are different from those of his home country. Contrary to the American Hidden Figures that László had hoped for, he was faced with great difficulties and costs.

Index

• Enamoured by Brutalist architecture
• Capture the architectural impact with VistaVision
• Brody is the only one for the role.
• Film is public art

Enamoured by Brutalist architecture

Q: It's a spectacular and very spectacular piece of work, but where did the idea for it come from?

Corbett: My wife Mona (Fastvold, co-writer) and I both have architects in our families, so we were familiar with architecture. My uncle studied at a branch of an educational institution that Frank Lloyd Wright started in Wisconsin in the early 20th century. Mona's grandfather was a Scandinavian mid-century designer. So we had been talking about making a story about an architect for years before we actually started writing the script for this film. We especially love the Met Breuer building, which is an annex of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is considered one of the most representative brutalist buildings built in the 1970s. Brutalism is a unique architectural style, so we started off wanting to make a film that explores it more. The Day After, even after we started writing the script, we continued to explore brutalism.

“Brutalist” © DOYLESTOWN DESIGNS LIMITED 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © Universal Pictures.

Q: The main character, László Tot, is a fictional character, but were there any real architects that you used as reference?

Corbett: There are a number of them, of course. Marcel Breuer, Paul Rudolph, Louis Isadore Kahn, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. I was inspired by the Brutalist architects, but also midcentury architects like Philip Johnson. I also drew inspiration from Marcel Breuer and his relationship with his wife, which I used in the script.

As for the stage design, set designer Judy Becker ( Carol 2015) was also a fan of brutalist architecture and had her own vision. That worked well for me, especially since I don't know any other set designers who could create a 50s atmosphere better than her. I don't think Todd Haynes's Carol was a big budget film, but I thought I hadn't seen such a beautiful 50s set since Douglas Sirk. We also used the work of photographer Saul Leiter as a reference for the atmosphere of the era. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to make a VistaVision film, and we wanted colors like the old Technicolor.

Capture the architectural impact with VistaVision