Poland
2011/35mm/92mins
Ages 18+
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 2.00 PM – James O. Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
Tickets available only from the National Gallery of Australia email Event Bookings @ NGA or call 02 6240 6528
Art comes to life in this utterly unique and visually stunning depiction of the story behind one of Pieter Bruegel’s most famous paintings.
In 1564 Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted ‘The Procession To Calvary’, filling the canvas with the details of both Christ’s crucifixion and the brutalisation of his homeland by occupying Spanish forces. With an astonishing and playfully experimental approach, legendary Polish filmmaker Lech Majewski transforms the painting into a moving image, combining live-action and blue-screen cinematography to create the look and feel of a living, breathing Bruegel masterpiece on the big screen. With a cast that includes Rutger Hauer, Michael York and Charlotte Rampling, Majewski explores the narrative behind the famous painting – unravelling both its religious symbolism and the politics behind the paint.
Screenings at Sundance, Sydney, Moscow, and San Francisco International Film festivals
“an extraordinary imaginative leap” Dennis Harvey, VARIETY
“a stunning piece of art in its own right” Pan Grady, BoxOffice magazine
Writer/Director Lech Majewski
Producers Lech Majewski, Freddy Olsson, Dorota Roszkowska
Cast Rutger Hauer, Michael York, Charlotte Rampling
Print Source Criss Cross Films
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I have to say I almost didn’t want to see this movie. I thought it would be just another religious film. Wrong! Sure, it covers a topic close to the heart of Christians, but there is more; much more, and it scores a 4 from me. I expect this film will be one of the highlights of the festival for me.
I was thrilled by the introductory scene. It set the tone, in a sense. This is a film unlikely to be of much interest to anyone who has no interest in art. But if you visit art galleries and have wondered about the creation of a painting this film may capture your imagination. I’d like to think Bruegel would have been pleased with it. There’s not a lot of dialogue. It was mainly a visual feast. No plot in the traditional sense, but there is a story to be told. It will certainly be a film to be remembered by me. To be savoured.
The sets were wonderfully done. The impossibly high windmill looked like it really existed. The steps leading to the mill were brilliantly done. A credit to the director. There was so much attention to detail. A wonderful film. More than once the film sent a shiver through my body.
Don’t watch any preview. Too many spoilers. Just see it. Go for the ride, and be surprised.
The film was shown in the NGA which provided a bonus of browsing the gallery’s offerings before or after the film. Which was really nice. But the Fairfax Theatre is not your typical movie house. We become accustomed to the house lights being switched off as we sink into the comfortable chairs at the start of a movie. A combination of the harder than average chairs in the Fairfax Theatre, staff not switching off the foyer lights during the film, and then having the house side lights switched on as the film began detracted further.