Overview
A haunting exploration of faith and suffering set against a backdrop of persecution.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- contemplative
- dreamy
- austere
- museum visit aftermath
- quiet evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's extraordinary imagery, technical achievement, and loving reconstruction of Bruegel's world, while finding its deliberately nontraditional narrative less propulsive and occasionally frustrating.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bruegel's crowded composition becomes an active cinematic environment as selected figures move within its painted landscape.
Christ's suffering is interwoven with rustic Flanders life and persecution under sixteenth-century religious authority.
The film follows figures from Bruegel's composition in an episodic, non-propulsive structure where visual revelation outweighs plot mechanics.
Costuming, rustic labor, simple machinery, and carefully composed landscapes recreate the world represented in Bruegel's painting.
Films like The Mill and the Cross, and why
Mr. Turner
shared painter biography, art historical subject, and contemplative visual storytelling
The Girl with the Pearl Earring
shared dramatization of a celebrated artwork through immersive period imagery and painterly composition
Silence
shared slow, meditative historical drama centered on religious imagery and visual atmosphere
Loving Vincent
shared experimental fusion of live action and iconic visual art with a dreamlike tone
Movie Details
- Director
- Lech Majewski
- Release Date
- 2011-03-18
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (113)
Cast
- Rutger Hauer
- Charlotte Rampling
- Michael York
- Joanna Litwin
- Dorota Lis
- Bartosz Capowicz
- Mateusz Machnik
- Marian Makula
- Sylwia Szczerba
- Wojciech Mierkulow
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Mill and the Cross about?
- A painterly meditation that brings Pieter Bruegel's crowded vision of persecuted Flanders to uncanny cinematic life.
- What is The Mill and the Cross like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Mill and the Cross as glacial, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Mill and the Cross violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Mill and the Cross as mild.
- What did critics think of The Mill and the Cross?
- Critics broadly praised the film's extraordinary imagery, technical achievement, and loving reconstruction of Bruegel's world, while finding its deliberately nontraditional narrative less propulsive and occasionally frustrating.
- Which films are like The Mill and the Cross?
- Films with a similar feel include Mr. Turner, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Silence, and Loving Vincent.
- How long is The Mill and the Cross?
- The Mill and the Cross runs 96 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Mill and the Cross?
- In United States, The Mill and the Cross streams on Kino Film Collection.
