Heaven on Earth

The Garden of Earthly Delights (2004) - Majewski



Two lovers, Claudia (Claudine Spiteri) and Chris (Chris Nightingale) both pursuing their doctorate: she studying Hieronymous Bosch's painting, he, nautical engineering, in one of the most picturesque, arty cities in the world, Venice. Claudia's thesis is that Bosch believed in paradise on earth. It's something we create for ourselves in our short time on earth. This rings more true because she is dying of throat cancer. The lovers roam around the forever waterlogged city, reenacting many of the details in the painting, all faithfully documented by Chris with his handheld video camera. This premise might sound a little too self-indulging in that snobby Euro-art way and Spiteri's coquettish British accent hits you as more than annoying. But when all is said and done, it's an affecting contemplation on art, life, death and beauty. I'm definitely going to see more of Majewski's films.

Oh, this will make a great double feature with Museum Hours.

Bruegel on Film

The Mill and the Cross (2011) - Majewski


Jesus and the cross is right underneath the mill on top of the protruding rock in the middle, obscured by commotions among the crowd. Bruegel (Rutger Hauer) with his big black canvas and his patron in a top hat (Michael York) are in the foreground on lower right corner.

Polish director Lech Majewski's recreation of Bruegel's Procession to Calvary with the stories and characters surrounding it is first and foremost a visual feat & a technical marvel. Rutger Hauer gives us a grand tour of hidden meanings and messages in said painting, as the famed Flemish renaissance painter. Like many of the renaissance paintings, Procession is an update on the Passion Play and features ruthless Spanish mercenaries in red tunic in place of Roman soldiers. With every frame a work of art, you can't look away from its beauty.

I like Majewski's unobtrusive, less bombastic filmmaking when compared to Greenaway's Night Watching, in making a scholarly investigation in art. And I'm a sucker for tableaux in films (von Trier uses in his films quite a lot, I even like Tarsem's slick, cartoonish ones) and this one doesn't disappoint.