I’ve been waiting to see The Mill and the Cross since last year, so I’m seriously looking forward to seeing it at Detroit Film Theatre this weekend. In this film by director Lech Majewski, the stories, characters and context of Pieter Brueghel’s 1564 painting The Way to Calvary come to life. The idea of being able to see what was going on in an artist’s mind and surroundings as he created a panoramic, detailed work like this is intriguing indeed. Apparently a mix of live action and CGI was used to recreate beautifully-lit visuals that are very similar to the painting’s. Rutger Hauer portrays Brueghel, who, inspired by a spider web, is apparently attempting to capture “everything” in one canvas, while the Inquisition overshadows everyday life in 16th-century Flanders, then governed by Spain.
The trailer reminded me of another film with a visual artist at its center, Peter Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract.
The Mill and The Cross is at DFT January 20-22 and 27-29, get all the details here.
Paula's Cinema Club 