Adrien Brody Emotional as ‘The Brutalist’ Receives 12-Minute Ovation at Venice

Brady Corbet’s historical drama “The Brutalist,” starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce, garnered an impressive 12-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday.

In the film, Brody plays a Hungarian Holocaust survivor named László Tóth, who struggles to revitalize his career as an architect in the United States. Overwhelmed by the ovation, Brody wiped away tears and tried repeatedly to direct the applause towards his director and co-stars, but the audience’s focus stayed on him.

“The Brutalist” chronicles 30 years in Tóth’s life. According to the film’s synopsis: “Hungarian-born Jewish architect László Tóth survived the Holocaust and emigrated to the United States with his wife, Erzsébet (played by Jones), in pursuit of the American dream. Initially enduring poverty and indignity, László eventually secures a contract with the mysterious, wealthy Harrison Lee Van Buren (Pearce), which changes the trajectory of his life.”

The film’s ensemble cast also features Joe Alwyn, Alessandro Nivola, Jonathan Hyde, Isaach De Bankolé, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, and Peter Polycarpou. In addition to directing, Corbet co-wrote the script with his wife, Mona Fastvold.

Corbet, who transitioned from acting to directing, has premiered films at Venice twice before. His 2015 directorial debut, “The Childhood of a Leader,” won the Luigi De Laurentiis award for best debut film and the Horizons best director prize. His 2018 film “Vox Lux” competed for the Golden Lion. “The Brutalist” is also contending for the festival’s prestigious top prize.

In a July interview with Variety, Corbet provided a preview of “The Brutalist,” a 215-minute film shot in 70mm that includes an intermission.

“I like the idea of an intermission,” Corbet said. “It allows everyone to reset without stressing about missing pivotal scenes because they need to use the bathroom, which is a legitimate concern with longer films. I’d describe it as a rolling intermission. The movie doesn’t stop entirely; there will be images and sound, and a timer to inform the audience of how much time is left.”

Source: Variety