THE MILL AND THE CROSS Artistic dramatization of Bruegel painting by Polish filmmaker Lech Majewski September 30, 2011

Pieter Bruegel’s epic masterpiece “The Way To Calvary” depicts the story of Christ’s Passion set in Flanders under brutal Spanish occupation in the year 1564, the year Bruegel created his painting. From among the more than 500 figures that fill Bruegel’s remarkable canvas, THE MILL AND THE CROSS focuses on a dozen characters whose life stories unfold and intertwine in a panoramic landscape populated by villagers and red-caped horsemen. Among them are Bruegel himself (Rutger Hauer), his friend and art collector Nicholas Jonghelinck (Michael York) and the Virgin Mary (Charlotte Rampling). One of today’s most adventurous and inspired artists and filmmakers, Lech Majewski (screenwriter of Basquiat), invites the viewer to live inside the aesthetic universe of the painting as we watch it being created. Majewski worked for three years to complete the film, pioneering a new method to “enter” a painting and watch the characters come to life that leads to magical results. Like Russian Ark, the film is an unforgettable synthesis of art and life. It’s also a feast of stunning visual effects, a provocative allegory and a cinematic tour de force on religious freedom and human rights. Official Selection: Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival

The film’s running time is 97 minutes; and is not rated. In English.

Plays Sep 30-Oct 6, 2011 at Nuart, Los Angeles
Landmark’s Nuart Theatre. 11272 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles (310) 281-8223
Showtimes (valid 9/30-10/6): Fri-Sun at 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:30 & 9:50; Mon- Thu at 5:10, 7:30 & 9:50.

Official Website: http://www.kinolorber.com/film.php?id=1203