This film is designed for a specific niche. The film focuses on what was going on in the painting, rather than developing a story within it. It is an hour and a half of plotless social commentary with only archetypical characters to relate. It is certainly an avant-garde approach to appreciating and understanding art and how it speaks to a group of people who have always wondered what it would be like to combine the film world with the classic art world. It is a forced marriage between one art form, film, and another, painting, to create a product that neither film enthusiasts nor art aficionados would enjoy. It seems that fans of classic renaissance art would want to avoid this film for the same reasons that loyal J.R.R. Tolkien fans that cannot see the Lord of the Rings film trilogy; it would ruin the images and feelings that the original art already fostered in their minds, and it would impose new images and feelings upon the ideas they have already grown to cherish.
Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray has a variety of special features for those that want to revel in the world that Majewski creates:
- The World According to Bruegel: A documentary about the making of the film.
- Lech Majewski Interview
- Trailers
- Stills Gallery
The Blu-ray is in 1.85:1 and in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, providing a clear and crisp image with distinct sound effects. Clearly, this blu-ray is meant to provide a full experience of Pieter Bruegeland the world in The Way to Calvary.
