SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Film awards season is heating up, and one of the front runners is a movie that's 3 1/2 hours long and includes an intermission. "The Brutalist" follows Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian Jewish architect and survivor of the Holocaust played by Adrien Brody. He flees to America, where he scratches out a living, shovelful after shovelful in construction, until a tycoon played by Guy Pearce approaches him about a commission.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BRUTALIST")
ADRIEN BRODY: (As Laszlo) Sir, I do not know what the commission entails.
GUY PEARCE: (As Harrison) We'll talk about the details at home, but you'll be well compensated. And also, you'll be given a place here on the property to live and work. I think that residing here will allow you the time and the space to conceive of it properly. What do you say?
BRODY: (As Laszlo) I would like to draw something and then present it to you.
PEARCE: (As Harrison) You'd like to win the commission (laughter).
SIMON: And Adrien Brody, the Oscar winner for "The Pianist," joins us from New York. Thank you so much for being with us.
BRODY: Thank you, Scott. Thank you for having me.
SIMON: Your mother, the photographer Sylvia Plachy, was also a Hungarian immigrant to the United States. Does that give you a special feeling for the theme of this film?
BRODY: Oh, yes. It's a big honor for me to help tell the story of the immigrant experience that is very familiar to me. You know, my mother, this amazing photographer, also emigrated to the United States in the '50s, much like my character did. Her and her parents fled Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution and moved to New York and began again. That journey of resilience and hope and sacrifice really speaks to me. And I'm here and with firm footing on the ground because of their struggles and all that they've overcome.
SIMON: We should explain maybe the brutalism of the title refers to - well, it might refer to a lot. But there was a school of architecture that arose after World War II, features structural elements and bare unpainted brick and glass over decorative designs. What do you think Laszlo finds in this style?
BRODY: Brutalism is an amazing style of architecture, you know, predominantly created by immigrants. And I think there is a quality in the structures themselves. I mean, it evolved in the wake of World War II, where there was a lot of rebuilding, and it had an eye on the future. They were buildings that were begging to be seen, yet the people who were making them were often fighting for their own right to exist.
SIMON: I got to tell you - at a couple of points through the film, I found myself saying to myself, how did I miss hearing about this guy, Laszlo Toth?
BRODY: (Laughter).
SIMON: I gather you've run into that.
BRODY: Well, I can tell you why you haven't heard of him (laughter). He's a fictional character. Unfortunately, the reason Brady Corbet, our director, and Mona Fastvold, his wife and writing partner, they had written a movie about a fictional architect from that era that survived the Nazi occupation and emigrated to America to begin again and carry on with his work is because many of the creatives were killed. And that work is never to be perpetuated.
SIMON: Yeah. 'Course, a tycoon finds him - Harrison Lee Van Buren - pays him well, gives him a chance to fulfill his vision. But there's another cost, isn't there?
BRODY: Yes. I think much of what the film speaks to, in addition to the immigrant struggles and the complexities of the American dream, is the relationship between the artist and their benefactor. And it's a very complex dynamic. The artist needs someone to fund the work, and there is a precarious (laughter) relationship. Oftentimes, that control is a battle, and many artistic impulses have to be adjusted.
SIMON: I mean, you know, sometimes it's got to be concrete instead of marble.
BRODY: Well, depends who you're talking to (laughter). Sometimes it cannot be anything but marble and a very specific type of marble.
SIMON: There's a particularly heart-tugging scene - you and Felicity Jones arguing. Well, let me let Laszlo Toth do the talking.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BRUTALIST")
BRODY: (As Laszlo) Look, they do not want us here.
FELICITY JONES: (As Erzsebet) Of course, they do not want us here.
BRODY: (As Laszlo) Not Attila.
JONES: (As Erzsebet) Then who do you mean?
BRODY: (As Laszlo) The people here. They do not want us here. Audrey, Attila's Catholic wife does not want us here. She does not want us here.
BRODY: It's very evident that they are - in spite of assimilating, in spite of their efforts and contributions, they are still treated as outsiders. It's awfully painful to come and begin again, and to still be faced and feeling that you are othered and not good enough.
SIMON: Is that a message you find we could stand to hear today?
BRODY: It's not lost on me. I mean, I think - this film was written seven years ago, and It references a historical time and one that we can hopefully learn from. And I think that's the beauty of film, is that it invites us to experience something that we're fortunate to not experience personally. And there is something about us all sitting in that darkened room together, sharing in what is hopefully an insightful moment and a reminder of how we have to be vigilant to not allow intolerance and oppression to exist.
SIMON: Adrien Brody stars in "The Brutalist," in theaters now. Thank you so much for being with us.
BRODY: Oh, thank you very much. I appreciated this conversation. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
