The correction by software of the Hungarian accent of Adrien Brody, American actor, in the film, which has already won multiple awards at Venice and the Golden Globes, would simply be unacceptable. And to think that this film is shot on film…
Adrien Brody did not pronounce certain sounds of the Hungarian language well enough, that of his character in “The Brutalist”. This did not prevent him from winning the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama film. Photo Proton Cinema – Yellow Bear Film
By Caroline Besse
Published on January 21, 2025 at 5:05 p.m.
The Brutalist will he trip over the red carpet? While the Oscar nominations are due to be announced on Thursday January 23, the film by American Brady Corbet, 36, one of the most anticipated cinematic events of the year, is facing criticism. Expected in French cinemas on February 12, the feature film tells the story of the arrival in the United States of a Hungarian architect who survived the Shoah, and proves monumental on several levels: in its duration (three hours and thirty-four minutes , intermission included), his staging and his scriptwriting mastery as much as his acting direction.
Unveiled in its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where Corbet was crowned with the Silver Lion for best director, the film subsequently received three Golden Globes: best director, best dramatic film, and best actor in a dramatic film for Adrien Brody, who plays this fictional architect with crazy conviction. And, independently of his will, it is through the actor that the scandal occurs. In a long article published on RedShark, a site devoted to image work, the film’s editor, Dávid Jancsó, explained that artificial intelligence had been used to perfect the Hungarian accents of the actor and of Felicity Jones, who plays his wife. Specifically, Respeecher technology made it possible to perfect the pronunciation of certain letters, while Adrien Brody already knew Hungarian, his mother having been born in Budapest and having lived there until the age of 13.
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The use of AI generated numerous comments under the article and on social networks, where Internet users expressed their disappointment. With, in essence, a reflection on the real performance of the actors, and the replacement of human talents by machines… The bad buzz is such that Brady Corbet officially communicated with Deadline, by ensuring that AI had only been used during editing and that in no case had the performances of Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones been altered. The director also spoke out about the controversy surrounding an ending scene, in which the architect’s career is presented in the form of drawings and videos, suspected of having also been created by AI. “Everything was hand-drawn by artists. In the memorial video, our editing team created images to make it appear as if they were designated in the 1980s.”
Does the use of AI and these digital processes distort the artisanal character of the film, shot entirely on film? Do these edits, for the sake of veracity, really weaken the breathtaking performances of the casting? So many reflections which are only at the beginning of a new era.
