NUOVA EUROPA
The Mill and the Cross
Lech Majewski
POLAND, SWEDEN, 2011
92’, 35mm, color
Versione / Original version: Inglese (English)
Sottotitoli / Subtitles: Italiano (Italian)
Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Michael Francis Gibson, Lech Majewski
Fotografia / Cinematography: Lech Majewski, Adam Sikora
Montaggio / Editing: Eliot Ems, Norbert Rudzik
Musiche / Music: Lech Majewski, Józef Skrze
Suono / Sound: Marian Bogacki
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Charlotte Rampling, Michael York, Joanna Litwin, Dorota Lis, Oskar Huliczka
Il capolavoro epico di Pieter Bruegel “La salita al Calvario” raffigura la storia della Passione di Cristo ambientandola nelle Fiandre durante la brutale occupazione spagnola del 1564. Tra le oltre 500 figure che popolano la tela di Bruegel, una dozzina di personaggi hanno vite che si dipanano e si intrecciano inestricabilmente. Tra loro ci sono lo stesso Bruegel, il suo amico collezionista d’arte Nicholas Jonghelinck e la Vergine Maria.
Pieter Bruegel’s epic masterpiece “The Way to Calvary” depicts the story of Christ’s Passion set in Flanders under brutal Spanish occupation in the year 1564. From among the more than five hundred figures that fill Bruegel’s remarkable canvas, a dozen of characters have life stories unfold and intertwine in a panoramic landscape. Among them are Bruegel himself, his friend art collector Nicholas Jonghelinck, and the Virgin Mary.
Lech Majewski:
Nato a Katowice, Lech Majewski ha studiato presso l’Accademia di Belle Arti di Varsavia. Nel 1970, completa gli studi alla Scuola Nazionale di Cinema di Łódź con Wojciech Has. Nei primi anni 80, dopo aver realizzato An Annunciation (1978) e The Knight (1980), viene proclamata la legge marziale in Polonia e Majewski lascia il paese per trasferirsi prima in Inghilterra, poi negli Stati Uniti. Nel 1985 scrive la sceneggiatura del suo primo film statunitense, Flight of the Spruce Goose. Nel 1986 va a Rio de Janeiro per sviluppare la sceneggiatura di Prisoner of Rio, film che uscirà nel 1989. In seguito, insieme alla Propaganda Films di David Lynch, produce e dirige Gospel According to Harry (1992). Nel 1995 Majewski co-produce Basquiat di Julian Schnabel; lo stesso anno dirige The Black Rider. Nel 1996 debutta come compositore e nel 1999 fa ritorno in Polonia per girare Wojaczek.
Lech Majewski was born in Katowice and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In the 1970s, he studied at the National Film School in Łódź, notably as a student of Wojciech Has, who taught Majewski directing. In the early 80s, after completing An Annunciation (1978) and The Knight (1980), the martial law was declared in Poland, so he emigrated to England and then to the United States. Based on his first novel, in 1985 he wrote a screenplay for his US debut Flight of the Spruce Goose. In 1986, he went to Rio de Janeiro to develop the screenplay of Prisoner of Rio, out in 1989. Then, together with David Lynch’s Propaganda Films, he produced and directed Gospel According to Harry (1992). In 1995 Majewski co-produced Basquiat by Julian Schnabel, and in the same year he directed The Black Rider. In 1996, he debuted as a composer and in 1999 he returned to Poland to direct Wojaczek.
Premi e selezioni / Prizes and selections: Sundance Film Festival 2011, Rotterdam Film Festival 2011, CinEast Film Festival 2011 (Official Competition), Festival Nowe Horyzonty Wrocław 2011 (Official Competition)
Produzione / Production: Instytucja Filmowa Silesia Film (Katowice, T / F +48 32 258 74 32; info@silesiafilm.com.pl; www.silesiafilm.com.pl), Telewizja Polska – Agencja Filmowa (TVP), SupraFilmSp. z o.o., Arkana Studio, Odeon Film Studio, 24 Media, Piramida Film, Bokomotiv, Mastershot Studio
World sales: Wide Management Enterprise (Paris, T +33 1 53 95 04 64; F +33 1 53 95 04 65; wide@widemanagement.com; www.widemanagement.com)