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Rec'd on 🏛️ What were your takeaways from the brutalist?

In short: I view it as a contemporary take on a modernist interpretation of Goethe’s Faust, in extremely short: - corruption through seeking of power - part one making deals with the devil - part two reconciling with those deals Overarching metaphors for the “american dream” and zionism; both beliefs are success at what costs, exploiting others for power Capitalism is inescapable “you think you fell out of a coconut tree? You” (all expression, including the movie you’re watching) “exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you?” those are some of my broad takes, also watched the movie a couple weeks ago so there might be more that i’m forgetting but also that’s just like my opinion man

@_aidan

Mar 2, 2025

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@Greenelysium

I’ve been trying to respond to this for two days straight but keep losing track of what I wanted to say. Love your takes on this. Elizabet’s letter in the overture even carries the Goethe quote about the hopelessly enslaved falsely believing themselves to be free. Laszlo comes to America seeking prosperity and freedom from the camps, only to find another form of enslavement under the patronage of the Van Burens and the capitalistic system. Van Buren embodies the American Dream (wealth, power, family), yet lacks the soul/artistic prowess to design and build the Institute, Laszlo carries a plethora of soul and artistic skill in his work, but he’s far too modest and meek to to grab hold of the riches and influence that come with the myth. It also delves into the idea of how art is interpreted by the masses vs. the intentions of the artist at work. Van Buren believes the project at Doylestown is a testament to his late mother (predominantly Christian community), when it really functions as a remembrance to the horrors that the Toths and many others experienced at Buchenwald. Many complain that Laszlo’s character no longer becomes the focus in the second act, but I don’t think this is true. He’s split between three seperate entities, Van Buren, Elizabet and the actual institute itself. His work and the drama surrounding it has completely consumed his soul, slowly assembling the only proper way he can process his grief. There’s also a major psychosexual motif running throughout the film (the brothel, the handjob scene, the rape scene, and the intercourse post-heroin scene). It’s all about power dynamics. The only thing I’m still having trouble comprehending is Zsofia’s journey from the beginning to the end of the piece, I think I kinda pieced together that since she stuck closest to her roots as a Jew and decided to make Aliyah/move back to Israel, she was able to live a more prosperous, healthy life than the Tóths had endured throughout their adulthood. I think the epilogue functions more as a sarcastic, bleak punchline than anything, intentionally so.

Mar 4, 2025

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