Lech Majewski is a Polish- born artist and filmmaker with a small but devoted following. The Museum of Modern Art accorded him a major retrospective, and in 2007, I named his beautiful “Glass Lips” one of the 10 best movies of the year.
Now we welcome Majewski’s “The Mill and the Cross,” a unique examination of Dutchman Pieter Bruegel’s 16th-century painting “The Way to Cavalry,” which depicts the Crucifixion transplanted to the artist’s own place and time, Spanish-controlled Flanders. Here, Jesus’ torment comes not at the hands of Roman troops, but of Spanish Catholic ones.
Majewski’s film brings to life a dozen or so of the 500 characters who fill the canvas. Mainly, though, it concentrates on the painter himself (portrayed by Rutger Hauer), his royal patron (Michael York) and the Virgin Mary (Charlotte Rampling).
Viewers are taken inside peasant huts and down cobblestone streets, providing a look at everyday life of the period.
As usual with Majewski, the film is light on dialogue (here, in English) and heavy on atmospheric visuals. In the most disturbing scene, a farmer is whipped and strapped to a wheel, which is mounted onto a pole that’s hoisted into the sky so birds can feed on the poor soul’s eyeballs.
No description can do justice to “The Mill and the Cross,” which must be seen to be fully appreciated. Moviegoers wishing to experience even more of Majewski’s work can turn to the collection of DVDs put out by Kino International.