Overture – Arrival in America (1947) Jewish-Hungarian architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) survives the Holocaust and begins a fraught journey to America. A stark, upside-down shot of the Statue of Liberty sets a tone of disorientation and fractured hope.
Part 1 – The Enigma of Arrival In Philadelphia, László stays with cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola), who’s distanced himself from his heritage. They’re commissioned by Harry Van Buren (Joe Alwyn) to renovate his wealthy father’s library—but chaos ensues when Harrison Van Buren (Guy Pearce) doesn’t consent, fires them, and refuses payment. This collapse sends László into despair and heroin addiction, working coal by day.
Part 2 – The Hard Core of Beauty Years later, Harrison reappears, praising the library, settling debts, and funding László’s immigration and work. László’s wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and mute niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) finally arrive. He’s commissioned to build a grand community center—including a chapel whose chapel tower forms a cross in sunlight. Tensions emerge: cost-cutting, xenophobia, personal tragedy. Harry’s inappropriate behavior toward Zsófia surfaces, and a supply-train derailment halts progress.
Marble Quarries & Betrayal During a marble selection trip in Italy, Harrison rapes László, vitriolic in denouncing him as unworthy—trauma that fractures László’s psyche.
Family Collapse & Exodus László, now erratic and emotionally distant, gives Erzsébet heroin for pain. She nearly dies from an overdose. Choosing dignity, she confronts Harry publicly, leading to Harrison’s disappearance. The couple decides to relocate to Jerusalem when Zsófia marries and emigrates—leaving unfinished their grand American vision.
After Erzsébet confronts Harry about his sexual assault on her husband, Harrison Van Buren vanishes—his fate left ambiguous. The film then leaps to 1980 Venice Biennale, where a retrospective of László’s work, including the completed Van Buren Institute, is unveiled. Now in a wheelchair, László listens as Zsófia delivers a poignant speech: she reveals his architectural design echoes the footprints of concentration camps—an artistic transformation of personal trauma. She closes with his mantra: “No matter what the others try and sell you, it is the destination, not the journey.” A low-fi disco tune begins rolling into the credits—undercutting conventional closure.
Are There Post-Credits Scenes?
No. The low-fi disco ending that rolls into the credits is the film’s final beat—there’s no additional post-credits scene.
Type of Movie
An epic period drama and historical fiction, structured like a two-part symphony with intermission—rich in architectural metaphors and existential themes.
Cast
Adrien Brody as László Tóth
Felicity Jones as Erzsébet Tóth
Guy Pearce as Harrison Lee Van Buren
Joe Alwyn as Harry Lee Van Buren
Raffey Cassidy (and Ariane Labed) as Zsófia
Alessandro Nivola as Attila Miller
Isaach de Bankolé as Gordon
Supporting: Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, etc.
Film Music and Composer
Score composed by Daniel Blumberg, using contrasting brass for construction-site scenes and synth for the Venice epilogue. Over two hours of music were written, beginning with an overture during the opening sequence.
Filming Locations
Primarily shot in Hungary, standing in for both rural Pennsylvania and Italian quarries. VistaVision cinematography (Lol Crawley) amplifies period authenticity and epic scope. Key scenes set in Carrara marble quarries, Italy, where personal and architectural horror merge.
Holocaust imagery and trauma are woven into both form and content.
Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes
No wide reports of alternate endings or major deleted scenes, though early scripts may have included more backstory on Harrison’s fate (left ambiguous intentionally).
Book Adaptations and Differences
Not based on any book—an original screenplay, though deeply informed by historical architecture and the Holocaust. No adaptation notes apply.
