.JPG){kind=link}
Cultural concept
The American Dream
The promise that anyone, even a refugee, can build a new life through talent and work, and the price that dream can demand.
Key question: Does America give more than it takes?
Watch → Film language → Context & history → Characters → Speak → Write → Project → Closing: place & exchange
Context & history → Characters → Speak → Write → Watch the trailer → Film language → Final task: Project → Closing: place & exchange
Guiding thread: Finding one’s place in the world · Sub-thread: Giving and receiving, we can only give and receive from a place.
Theme: Creating & dreaming
Overview
Hook, finding one’s place
Guiding thread: Finding one’s place in the world · Sub-thread: Giving and receiving, we can only give and receive from a place.
Finding one’s place in the world · Young people today
László Tóth arrives in America as a refugee and has to fight to be treated as an equal. Today, how do young people help newcomers find their place?
Sentence starters
- László arrives with… but he wants…
- To find a place, a newcomer needs…
- Young people can welcome newcomers by…
- Being treated as an equal means…
Visionary filmmakers. In 2024, Brady Corbet made an epic of more than three and a half hours about a refugee’s struggle for his place, and Adrien Brody won the Oscar for Best Actor for the role.
Talk about the characters and about young people in general, not about yourself.
Then, a second question:
Can a building tell the story of a life? Look at Boston City Hall in the gallery: heavy, raw, monumental. Would you call it beautiful?
Sentence starters
- At first sight, this building looks…
- A building can express… because…
- I find it beautiful / ugly because…
The film in three lines
A24’s logline: “An architect escapes post-war Europe to rebuild his life. Alone in America, a powerful man recognizes his talent. But legacy comes at a heavy cost...” László Tóth is a fictional character, a Holocaust survivor trained in the Bauhaus tradition, who arrives in Pennsylvania and receives a huge commission from a rich industrialist.
Film sheet
Film study sheet · printable, clickable, with QR code.
Open the printable sheethttps://trame-lycee.netlify.app/films/fiche-the-brutalist.html
Film credits
| Title | The Brutalist (USA / UK / Hungary, 2024) |
|---|---|
| Director | Brady Corbet |
| Screenplay | Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold |
| Cast | Adrien Brody (László Tóth), Felicity Jones (Erzsébet Tóth), Guy Pearce (Harrison Lee Van Buren), Joe Alwyn (Harry Lee Van Buren), Raffey Cassidy (Zsófia), Alessandro Nivola (Attila) |
| Cinematography | Lol Crawley, shot in VistaVision (Oscar) |
| Editing | Dávid Jancsó |
| Music | Daniel Blumberg (Oscar) |
| Distributor | A24 |
| Running time | 215 minutes, with an intermission |
| Release | Venice Film Festival, 1 September 2024 (Silver Lion for direction) · USA, 20 December 2024 |
| Rating | R, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, rape, drug use and some language |
| Awards | 97th Academy Awards (2025): 10 nominations, 3 Oscars, Best Actor (Brody), Cinematography, Original Score |
Film language, with examples from the official trailer
Timecodes are approximate (± 2 s). Pause the trailer and check each example yourself.
Shots
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| establishing shot / extreme long shot | shows the place; people look tiny |
| long shot | a whole body in its setting |
| medium shot | from the waist up |
| close-up | a face fills the frame: emotion |
| extreme close-up | a detail: eyes, a hand, an object |
| two-shot | two characters in one frame: a relationship |
| over-the-shoulder shot | we watch one character through another’s position |
- ≈0:18cranes reflected in water: a new world under construction
- ≈0:26close-up of a hand drawing: the architect’s mind
- ≈1:10extreme long shot of a marble quarry: the scale of the project
Angles
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| eye level | neutral, we are equal with the character |
| high angle | camera above: the character looks small or weak |
| low angle | camera below: the character looks powerful |
| canted (Dutch) angle | tilted frame: unease, a world out of balance |
| bird’s-eye view | straight down from above |
- ≈0:30low angle on a crane: power and ambition
- ≈1:58low angle on a circular skylight: a cathedral-like space
- ≈2:06the Statue of Liberty filmed tilted, even upside down (canted angle): a broken American Dream
Camera movement
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pan | the camera turns horizontally |
| tilt | the camera moves up or down |
| tracking shot | the camera travels with a character or a car |
| zoom | the lens brings us closer |
| handheld camera | shaky, urgent, documentary feel |
| crane / aerial shot | the camera flies above the scene |
- ≈2:06a moving camera on an arriving ship reveals the Statue of Liberty
Lighting & colour
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| high-key lighting | bright, few shadows: optimism |
| low-key lighting | dark, strong shadows: tension, mystery |
| backlighting | light behind a character: a halo or a silhouette |
| natural light | sun, windows, candles |
| colour palette | the dominant colours of the film |
- ≈0:46a library lit by a circular light from above
- whole trailercold greys and browns, deep shadows: the colours of raw stone
Sound
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| diegetic sound | the characters can hear it (a radio, a piano on stage) |
| non-diegetic sound | only the audience hears it (the score, a narrator) |
| voice-over | a voice we hear over the images |
| score | music composed for the film |
| silence | no sound: a shock, a pause |
| sound bridge | a sound that continues into the next scene |
- whole trailerDaniel Blumberg’s score: heavy piano and brass that sound like construction
- ≈0:25a question about the architect “shoveling coal here in Philadelphia”
Editing
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cut | a direct change of shot |
| cross-cutting | alternating between two places or stories |
| montage | a fast series of shots that compresses time |
| fade to black | the image disappears: an ending, a pause |
| intertitle | text on screen between images |
| slow motion | time slows down: importance, emotion |
- ≈2:22title card “THE BRUTALIST in VistaVision”: the format itself becomes an argument
- whole trailerslow rhythm, long shots between short lines of dialogue
Step into the period
Daily life
- Post-war Europe: millions of displaced persons in camps
- Arrival through New York; work in industrial Pennsylvania
- Anti-immigrant and antisemitic prejudice
Music
- Jazz clubs and big bands of the late 1940s and 1950s
Fashion
- Workers’ overalls and coats; tailored suits for the rich industrialist
Places
- Ellis Island and New York harbour
- Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania countryside
- Carrara marble quarries in Italy
Historical landmarks
- 1919 The Bauhaus school opens in Weimar, Germany.
- 1933 The Nazis force the Bauhaus to close; many architects emigrate to the USA.
- 1944 Deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz.
- 1945 End of the Second World War; liberation of the camps.
- 1947 The film begins: László arrives in America.
- 1948 25 June: Displaced Persons Act first allows about 200,000 refugees into the USA.
- 1950s The word “Brutalism” spreads: it refers to raw, unfinished building surfaces.
- 1968 Boston City Hall is completed.
- 1980 First Venice Architecture Biennale, the setting of the film’s epilogue.
- 2024 The Brutalist premieres in Venice.
- 2025 3 Oscars, including Best Actor for Adrien Brody.
Sources: A24, The Brutalist
Watch
Official trailer (A24)
Official channel: A24 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdRXPAHIEW4
First viewing
- What job did László have in Europe, and what job does he do in Philadelphia?
- Who recognises his talent?
- Find three materials or places linked to building.
- What is strange about the image of the Statue of Liberty?
Answer key
- An accomplished architect; he shovels coal.
- A powerful rich man, Harrison Lee Van Buren.
- Cranes, building sites, marble quarry, library, skylight…
- It is tilted / upside down.
Second viewing, exact words
- “Why is an accomplished foreign architect shoveling ___ here in Philadelphia?”
- “I brought you all out here to join me in looking forward toward the ___.”
- “Your English is ___.”
- “They do not ___ us here.”
Answer key
- coal
- future
- impressive
- want
Film language
Filming architecture
Low angles, symmetry, circles of light: the trailer films buildings like characters. Compare the skylight at ≈1:58 with Boston City Hall in the gallery.
Sentence starters
- The low angle gives the building…
- Symmetry suggests…
- The upside-down Statue of Liberty means…
Context & history
Brutalism and the Bauhaus
The Bauhaus school (1919 to 1933) taught that form should follow function. After 1933 many of its teachers emigrated to the United States. Brutalism, popular from the 1950s to the 1970s, used raw, unpainted surfaces, massive forms and repetition, for city halls, universities, libraries.
Refugees and the American Dream
After 1945, millions of “displaced persons” could not go home. The Displaced Persons Act of 25 June 1948 first opened the USA to about 200,000 of them. The film asks: what does America give a refugee, and what does it take?
Sentence starters
- The American Dream promises…
- For László, America is both… and…
- Art and power meet when a patron…
Fact or fiction?
László Tóth never existed. Is it a problem for a film to invent an artist so close to real history?
Characters
| Character (actor) | Who | Key word |
|---|---|---|
| László Tóth (Adrien Brody) | fictional Hungarian-Jewish architect, Holocaust survivor | vision |
| Erzsébet Tóth (Felicity Jones) | his wife, separated from him by the war | resilience |
| Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) | rich industrialist, his patron | power |
| Harry Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) | Harrison’s son | privilege |
| Attila (Alessandro Nivola) | László’s cousin in Philadelphia | assimilation |
Sentence starters
- The relationship between artist and patron is…
- László depends on… but…
Speak
1 · Pitch a building, 2 minutes
You are László. Present your project to Van Buren’s guests: purpose, materials, symbol.
Sentence starters
- This building will be…
- I chose these raw materials because…
- It will remind people of…
2 · Interaction, artist vs patron
Van Buren wants to cut costs; László refuses to change his design. Negotiate.
Sentence starters
- With respect, the design…
- If we change this,…
- I am paying, so…
3 · Debate, “Does money always control art?”
Sentence starters
- Throughout history, patrons…
- An artist can stay free if…
Write
Write
B2 · 220 to 250 words: László’s letter to Erzsébet describing America and his first job.
B2+ · 280 words: “The American Dream has a price.” Discuss with the trailer and context.
Sentence starters
- My dear Erzsébet,…
- America is not what I…
- Admittedly,… yet…
For the exam
For the exam. In the baccalauréat général, English (LVA / LVB) is assessed through continuous assessment: your annual average in 1re and in Tle counts (coefficient 3 each year). At the end of Tle, your teachers also certify your CEFR level in each skill, listening, reading, writing, speaking (continuous) and speaking (interaction), on your official language certificate. Every task below is built on those five skills, with authentic documents linked to a programme axis, exactly like your class assessments.
- Listening: trailer · Reading: Bauhaus / refugees · Speaking: pitch, negotiation, debate · Writing: letter / essay.
Project
Project, “Brutalist or beautiful?” guided tour
Choose a Brutalist building in the English-speaking world (Boston City Hall, the Barbican in London, the National Theatre…). Make a 2-minute guided tour with three photos under free licences, credited.
Sentence starters
- Welcome to…
- Built in…, it was designed to…
Closing: place & exchange
Step 1 · A place found or lost
Everything is exchange, and we can only give and receive from a place. First find each character’s place; then look at four kinds of exchange; then go deeper: what passes between the characters inside · trust, love, respect, meaning? Who do they become, not only what do they own?
László arrives as a refugee. What place does America offer him, and what place does he want?
Sentence starters
- At the start, …’s place is…
- At the end, … has found / lost his/her place because…
Answer key
- László is offered a place as a worker and a protégé; he wants a place as an artist and an equal.
Step 2 · Four kinds of exchange
| Kind of exchange | In the film |
|---|---|
| Political | László Tóth arrives in the USA as a refugee after the war. |
| Emotional | László and his wife Erzsébet, separated by the war. |
| General interest | A community building commissioned by Harrison Lee Van Buren. |
| Human rights | A Holocaust survivor looking for dignity and freedom. |
Sentence starters
- The political exchange in the film is between… and…
- …gives… to…, and in return…
- This exchange serves the general interest because…
- …defends the right to…
Step 3 · Beyond what they have: who they are
Now go deeper, from the place each character has found or lost. Talk about the characters only.
- Van Buren gives László money and a commission. What does he not give him?
- What does Erzsébet bring to László when she arrives in America?
- László’s buildings will outlive him. What does he want to pass on through them?
Sentence starters
- What really passes between… and… is…
- …does not only give…; he/she gives…
- Thanks to…, …understands who he/she is.
- At the end, what matters for… is not what he/she has but…
- This exchange changes… because…
- From his/her new place, … can at last give / receive…
Closing sentence (write it): From the place they find or lose, the deepest exchange in this film is…
Answer key
- Respect and equality: Van Buren treats László as something he owns, not as an equal.
- Love, memory and a voice that defends him: she reminds him who he is.
- His vision and his memory: his work expresses who he is, beyond what he owns or is paid.
- Model closing sentence: Van Buren can pay for László’s work, but he cannot own who László is.
Teacher
Teacher notes
- Axes: 1re « Art et pouvoir », « Les aires anglophones américaines » · Tle « Territoire et mémoire ».
- László Tóth is fictional.
Share this film study
https://trame-lycee.netlify.app/films/the-brutalist.html
Created by Madame Carole Paoli Pompougnac.