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Official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
THE MILL AND THE CROSS is a "film of great beauty and attention" (Roger Ebert) that stunningly recreates one of the great masterpieces of painting, Pieter Bruegel the Elder's "The Way to Calvary." Lech Majewski brings the viewer inside the painting with immersive period detail and jaw-dropping digital effects. The daily life of 16th-century Flanders is rendered with astounding vividness, from the routine of the windmill caretaker to the crusading Spanish militia, who abuse Protestants with brutally violent tactics. Rutger Hauer stars as Bruegel himself, touring inside his own canvas and discussing the origin of his work while his wealthy patron, Nicolaes Jonghelinck, bemoans the state of his disintegrating country. The film also features Charlotte Rampling as the Virgin Mary.
GENRES
- Drama / Costume Drama
- Adaptation / Artistic
- Drama / Biopic
- International / European / Polish
- Drama / Religious
Cast & Crew
- Bartosz Capowicz - Crucified
- Sebastian Cichonski - Peddler
- Lucjan Czerny - Bram
- Rutger Hauer - Pieter Bruegel
- Oskar Huliczka - Horn Player
- Ruta Kubas - Esther
- Dorota Lis - Saskia Jonghelinck
- Joanna Litwin - Marijken Bruegel
- Mateusz Machnik - Wheelfied
- Marian Makula - Miller
- Wojciech Mierkulow - Jan
- Charlotte Rampling - Mary
- Sylwia Szczerba - Netje
- Jan Wartak - Simon
- Michael York - Nicolaes Jonghelinck
- Awards & Accolades
- Special Citation San Francisco Film Critics Circle 2011
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Reviews
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Just spectacular. This film captures the visual feel and the demented tone of a Bruegel painting perfectly. Despite being nothing more nor less than an animated adaptation of a still artwork, it is thoroughly compelling.
If you haven't seen Jackson's "Lord of the Rings", try "Mill and the Cross" instead: it has the same stunning New Zealand scenery and oddly similar themes, including a crucified Frodo and the miller as all-seeing Sauron, but taking only a trim 95 minutes.
But seriously, nothing really compares to this film. It offers unexpected insight into its subject, and it will stay with you.
Each scene is framed as if it was part of a living painting. Every now and then Bruegel wanders through its midst explaining the undertones. Visually interesting and at times mesmerizing. However, not a lot of dialog.
Literally, a moving painting. Beautifully done. A most unusual art film.