8/10
The Mill and the Cross is a movie inside of a painting,
specifically The Way to Calvary (1564)
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Pieter
Bruegel (Rutger Hauer) is the main
character in the film which takes turns following him as he decides how his
painting will take shape and who will be in it and also follows the local
peasants who go about their daily business in middle of 16th century
Flanders. The background is always the
actual painting’s background with the mill high up on a rock looking down on a
large field where most of the action occurs.
Bruegel’s patron is Nicolaes Jonghelinck (Michael York), a successful Flemish
banker who spends his time learning from Bruegel about the people in the
painting and what each section represents and also pontificates to nobody in
particular about the current state of affairs in Flanders. In 1564, Spain ruled what is now Antwerp and
Flanders. The Spanish militia seen in
the painting in their red tunics seemed to be preoccupied with chasing down and
torturing Protestant heretics. There are
gruesome scenes in the film with a man tied to a wagon wheel hoisted up in the
air with no defense at all while the birds have at him. A woman’s fate is no better as she is shoved
alive into an open grave while the red tunics fill the dirt in on top of
her.
The Way to Calvary
itself does not show these particular atrocities. Instead, it has Jesus in the center hoisting
his own cross towards his crucifixion.
The exact moment the painting captures is Simon helping him with the
cross because Jesus stumbled and fell down.
Everyone’s eyes are on Simon at this time instead of Jesus. In the foreground is Mary (Charlotte Rampling). She is helpless as she sits on the sidelines
because there is nothing she can do to prevent the red tunics from carrying out
their mission. The rest of the painting
shows hundreds of peasants either watching the proceeding or going about their
chores. Children play games on the
hillside, a local peddler sells his bread, a horn player dances around, and
above them all, the miller observes from his windmill.
The Mill and the Cross is at its best when Bruegel is
explaining his inspiration and how he plans to incorporate all of his ideas and
scenes into one large landscape. He looks
closely at a spider’s web to discover where the anchor point on his painting
will be and how to section off the rest of the action. Just as intriguing are the scenes of everyday
life in 1564 Flanders. A young couple
gets out of bed and takes their cow to the field for the day. Bruegel’s wife and children wake up after him
and get ready for breakfast which is a small slice of bread. The miller and his apprentice ready the mill
for the day’s tasks and the large wheels and gears moan into action.
Rutger Hauer is excellent as Pieter Bruegel and he appears
to be serving his artistic penance to atone for his ridiculous participation in
Hobo
with a Shotgun earlier this year.
Michael York is taking a break from his voice over work and TV
appearances to finally show up in a serious film again. Charlotte Rampling is sort of the odd man out
here. Her screen time is sparse as Mary
and she spends most of the time misty eyed observing all of the peasant
movements around her.
The Mill and the Cross is a Polish production directed by Lech Majewski who also aided in
adapting the screenplay from a book of the same name by Michael Francis Gibson. The
film was an official selection at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will
most likely earn an Oscar nod for Best Costume Design. The costumes are remarkable and frequently
take center stage over the performers.
The Mill and the Cross is a bit reminiscent of The
Girl with a Pearl Earring but instead of showing how the painting is
made from the outside, this time, the filmmakers actually take you inside of
the painting itself and walks on the same landscape as its subjects. There is little dialogue in the film which is
not a problem because it is so absorbing to just sit back and watch the
peasants wander around the area and Bruegel figure out how to tie everything
together. I will not give it away, but
the final shot of the film is as wonderful as the rest as the camera backs up
and reveals something to the audience.
If you are a movie patron with patience and an interest in
art history, The Mill and the Cross is for you. If you get bored in movies without guns,
flash bangs, and screaming, stay away.
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