The Brutalist

The ragged, destitute Jewish refugee arriving in the U.S. at the beginning of Brady Corbet’s monumental film has no other ambition than to rebuild his life. László Toth (Adrien Brody) has survived the Second World War, but who is he in a new land with few contacts? While living on the bare minimum in Pennsylvania, fate leads him into the arms of the wealthy capitalist Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who eventually realizes that László, before the war, was one of Europe’s leading Bauhaus architects. This opens up new opportunities for László, both personally and professionally. He receives a grand project that could become his life's work, and perhaps he can even track down his wife and bring her to the U.S. as well.

But the relationship with Van Buren and his upper-class family will also become a burden for László. Both men have strong wills, high ambitions, and dangerous temperaments.

The Brutalist is a story that alternates between light and dark, hope and hopelessness. The film paints an incredibly detailed portrait of the U.S. after World War II, building a thematic symphony around concepts such as talent, money, power, racism, and privilege. With virtuosic direction and an outstanding ensemble cast, it is an epic film in every sense of the word about the American Dream.

Subtitles:
Alfheim, January 16th – Norwegian
Fokus, January 18th – International version