Upamanyu Biswas
Helmed by Brady Corbet, ‘The Brutalist’ follows Holocaust survivors László Toth and his wife Erzsébet, who leave Hungary for the US in the aftermath of World War II. Although immigration comes with its own difficulties, Toth hopes to spread his wings as a visionary architect, struggling to achieve the American dream amidst the family’s struggles with humiliation and hunger. However, when a wealthy industrialist named Harrison Lee Van Buren commissions a new modernist monument, Toth challenges his skills to make it come to fruition, only to face opposition elsewhere. The epic period drama film navigates an era of history that is brimming with significant modern historical events, providing an exquisite backdrop where ambition, aspiration, and dreams exist within the same quarters.
The Brutalist Filming Locations
Although primarily set in the country, ‘The Brutalist’ was shot across Europe, with notable scenes recorded in Budapest, Hungary, the town of Carrara in Italy, and the historic canal city of Venice, Italy. Filming was originally intended to take place in 2020 but had to be postponed several times because of the COVID-19 pandemic and pregnancies and deaths within the crew and cast members’ families. Principal photography on the project began on March 16 and was wrapped up by May 5, 2023. It was essential that locations were picked with the film’s early era aesthetic in mind and also capturing the industrial feel and tone of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Toth spends most of his time.
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest, Hungary’s capital and its most populous city, has risen in prominence over the years as a versatile filming site that offers state-of-the-art production facilities and unique outdoor locations. In ‘The Brutalist,’ the city bisected by the River Danube stands in for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The production team spent roughly 12 weeks in Hungary to understand the region and how it could double up as America’s Garden Capital. Production designer Judy Becker stated in an interview that “it helped that the film was set in an earlier period because there were places in Hungary that looked sort of lost in the past. For example, the industrial area in Budapest looked very similar to the industrial area of Philadelphia in the 1950s.”
Scenes were recorded at 22 Teleki Square, a four-story ochre building, where synagogues and congregations take place. These events have been ongoing for at least a century, steeping the establishment in history. Its inclusion in the film adds another layer of reality that helps it achieve a level of verisimilitude, which is vital moving forward. Additionally, as architecture forms such a big part of ‘The Brutalist,’ the diverse architectural styles exhibited by Budapest’s buildings, which range from Romanesque to Modern, echo those central ideas and provide even more cover for the narrative. Intriguingly, Becker built a practical center to stand in for Toth’s building site, where he pours his efforts into designing a brutalist-style establishment in reference to the film’s title.
Carrara, Italy
‘The Brutalist’ was also shot in the Tuscan region of Italy, specifically the town of Carrara. The production moved to the idyllic town in the Province of Massa and Carrara to record some key scenes at its famed marble quarries, allowing the story to shine a spotlight on the building process at every phase. Filming took place in the Bettogli and Bombarda quarries, which denote the significance of the region as one of the leading producers of high-grade marble worldwide. Meanwhile, the Antica Drogheria Riacci store at Corso Carlo Rosselli, 1, 54033, played a key role in some scenes. Overall, the town’s artistic and historic venues seamlessly fit in with the majestic beauty present throughout the narrative, even in its smallest moments.
Venice, Italy
The canals of Venice, Italy, have mesmerized numerous tourists and filmgoers over several years. The city’s unique design and vast array of monuments, palaces, and buildings are some of the finest pieces of architecture anywhere, taking visitors back to the time of the Renaissance. The city is heavily featured in ‘The Brutalist,’ even incorporating elements from the First Architecture Biennale, an architecture exhibition held in the 20th century. These landmark additions help root the story even more firmly in its period setting, which only brings out the emotions and splendor of the narrative more clearly. In the past, Venice has hosted productions of films and shows like ‘Ripley,‘ ‘Once Upon a Time in America,‘ ‘The English Patient,‘ and ‘The Young Pope.‘
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