5 movies you shouldn't miss if you liked The Brutalist

Postwar life is difficult; some survive, some live, and some build. Brady Corbet's The Brutalist is about all of it, but it's not limited to such themes. Adrien Brody's Laszlo Toth is seen adapting to life after the Holocaust, where he struggles to find work in what is a new world for him.

The character was an accomplished architect before, which is revealed as the story develops as life restores his glory, though there's an evil called Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) who makes his life nothing short of hell. That film is currently the top pick at the Oscars and most likely will win.

But until that's official, and if you have already watched The Brutalist, there are movies that explore similar themes in it, more specifically, a postwar life. So we picked a few of them and are presenting them here.

Disclaimer: This entire article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.

These movies employ similar themes as The Brutalist

The Master

Joaquin Phoenix is a World War II Navy veteran, namely Freddie in The Master, and like The Brutalist, the character finds himself in the company of a man called Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who has found this movement he calls the Cause. Though he isn't really brutal like the Guy Pearce character.

Before joining the Cause, Freddie was struggling as he failed to find a place in society. However, fans will slowly come to realize that the Cause is basically something people become reliant on. Now, Freddie must face a choice whether he is to dedicate his life to the Cause or leave it for good.

Brothers

Tobey Maguire is more than just a web slinger; he can be a paranoid, and it's clear in Brothers. He is Sam Cahill, a United States Marine Corps officer who is taken in by the Taliban and tortured. Everyone thinks he's dead, and his family moves on. But then, hey, surprise, I am alive; he is back home.

Once cheerful, Sam becomes a fearful man, especially for his children. Not just that, he thinks his wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), and his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), fell in love. You can understand how jealousy then played a role there.

The Deer Hunter

People can certainly drop their plans if they are preparing for the army or something, especially if that includes something like serving in a war, after watching The Deer Hunter. The story focuses mainly on Mike (Robert De Niro) and Nick (Christopher Walken), and the ending will just leave you devastated.

The final scene can bring out a range of emotions that can be overwhelming. Though several films have achieved this feat, The Deer Hunter does it so naturally that it'll simply stay with the viewers for some time.

Oppenheimer

We recently got to see the Christopher Nolan masterpiece, and it bears quiet similarities, talking thematically, with Corbet's The Brutalist. It is about building something, though Adrien Brody's character doesn't create something that'll blow up entire cities.

While The Brutalist is a proper postwar film, Oppenheimer covers timelines during and after the war. Just so you know, J. Robert Oppenheimer wasn't really proud of what he created.

The Pianist

What better way to end the list than putting in a film that actually has the same actor who plays a character who suffers in a similar way as Laszlo Toth in The Brutalist? Here's another interesting thing about it: Brody got his first Oscar with it; well, he might soon get another one.

Brody plays a Polish-Jewish pianist, Wladysiaw Szpilman, in the film (he is Hungarian-Jewish in The Brutalist), who loses everything. The hardest part is always beginning again, especially after someone has gone through suffering in the movie.

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