Explainer | Why architects are slamming The Brutalist, and more about the film nominated for 10 Oscars
From whether it’s a true story to its AI use, here are five things to know about the film up for 10 Academy Awards, including best picture
The Brutalist, an epic drama loosely inspired by the life and work of architect Marcel Breuer, is one of the favourites for this year’s Oscars.
But the film has drawn scorn from design experts, who accuse it of glaring errors and question whether its main character is even a Brutalist architect.
Here are five things to know about the film, which is up for 10 Academy Awards, including best picture:
1. Who is the Brutalist it depicts?
The film’s director, Brady Corbet, has said his protagonist Laszlo Toth is an “amalgamation” of several famed architects, most notably Breuer.
Like the fictional Toth, Breuer was born in Hungary, honed his skills at interwar Germany’s influential Bauhaus school, and immigrated to America.
Both were born to Jewish families, both designed iconic chairs before turning their focus to grand buildings, and both were commissioned to construct giant Christian buildings in remote parts of the United States that became their masterpieces.