As
interesting as watching paint dry is a phrase that might ring true to many with
regard to The Mill and the Cross. Story,
characters, human element… they all take a back seat. It’s all about the
visuals.
At first, The Mill and The Cross seemed to me
like a series of paintings with moving objects that were heading nowhere. And I
had intended to bring it up in a critical manner. The film evokes stillness and
boredom in you. But only as it should; echoing the feelings of an artist who, bored
out of his mind, taunts a helpless spider with a stick. The spider hobbles
around in its dewdrop studded web but remains unwilling to abandon it.
Inspiration gushes in and sets the creative juices flowing. Time stands still,
the artist seizes the moment and it all flows onto paper. When he begins to see
the beauty of the town, you slowly involve yourself in the film and recognize
its beauty. That’s a rich payoff, the realization that all of this documentary-style
spying has amounted to something meaningful.
