The Brutalist (2024)

when the intermission screen showed up i thought it couldn’t have been more than a little more than an hour, but two actual hours had actually lapsed. the 3h35m runtime did not make the movie feel drawn out at all, though i would not recommend watching this at home because you will probably feel incredibly bored even if you become a little bit distracted. 

it’s a story about powerlessness, about pride being the only thing keeping you going and the length you’d go to to protect it even when it hurts you. it’s also a heartbreaking story of an immigrant navigating both state and cultural violence, both at home and in a strange land. the scene where laszlo says “they do not want us here” had my eyes swelling up. that felt visceral. 

on the other hand, the sex scenes did give me pause. they make me wonder: if i had not seen the love of my life for five years during which i lived in horrendous torture resulting in my permanent disability, would i also cry to him about how much i thought of him during those years when i was actually dying of malnourishment both physically and on a soul level, all whilst trying to give him the hand job of his life out shame as he resists being intimidate with me, also out of shame? these are the questions i’ll need to wrestle with this weekend