"The Mill and the Cross", dir. Lech Majewski. From left: Rutger Hauer, Lech Majewski and Michael York; source: press materials
Lech Majewski's The Mill and the Cross garnered favourable reviews following its screening at the Sundance film festival in late January
The Polish-Swedish production brings Peter Breugel the Elder's painting The Way to Calvary to life, starring Rutger Hauer as the artist who - in a series of conversations and monologues - explains the various elements of his masterpiece in the making.
The painting is explained in great detail - and Majewski's film pays credit to the masterpiece, giving a historical background to the life and times of the artist. Set in Flanders in the 1560s, when Spanish rulers executed heretics in a brutal occupation, crucifying men and buying women alive, a lonely miller observes the activities from his hilltop abode. The red-shirted invaders pilfer the land and murder the country folk - elements that are very much evident in the painting.
US entertainment magazine Variety lauded the film on January 27, writing:
Much of 'The Mill and the Cross' delights, with episodes of rambunctious humour among some rural ne'er-do-wells and a roving pack of joyfully rowdy children". The reviewer goes on to say that ""While hardly an exercise in strict realism a la 'The Girl With the Pearl Earring', the [film] details rustic Flanders life with loving care, from costuming to simple machinery … the film is never dull, and frequently entrancing.
The British website Screendaily.compraised the attention to detail paid to its post production process - which took around 18 months to complete. Shot mainly in front of a blue screen, The Mill and the Cross was then composed with a number of CGI graphics to attain an image as close to possible to the work by Breugel.
On January 24, 2011 David D'Arcy wrote:
The tech-savvy will still marvel at the film's combination of blue-screen, live-action shot in the actual landscapes found in Breugel's paintings and a vast backdrop painted by Majewski himself.
Referencing the film's usage of themes related to the Passion of Christ, D'Arcy emphasised that:
Majewski is not Mel Gibson. His film is rooted in admiration, not worship. In his admiration for Bruegel, there is a recognition of greatness that won't be outdone by cinema, and it isn't. But this is an experiment that should not be missed.
The film goes on to run a limited release mainly around festival circuits and art museums around the world.
Produced by: Polish Film Institute, Telewisja Polska, Bokomotiv Filmproduktion, Odeon Studio, Silesia Film, 24 Media, Supra Film, Arkana Studio, Piramida Film. Executive Producer: Angelus Silesius. Co-Producer: Freddy Olsson. Screenplay: Michael Francis Gibson, Lech Majewski. Cinematography: Lech Majewski, Adam Sikora. Production designers: Katarzyna Sobańska, Marcel Sławiński. Main Cast: Rutger Hauer, Michael York, Charlotte Rampling, Joanna Litwin, Dorota Lis
For more information on the film, see: The Mill and the Cross and Out of Reach at Sundance...