By Christopher Vourlias

At first glance, there might not seem to be much in common between Pablo Larraín’s anticipated Maria Callas biopic, “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie as the titular opera singer, and Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” a 215-minute epic about a Holocaust survivor building a new life in America. Though both films are premiering on the Lido at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where they’re vying for the Golden Lion, they’re worlds apart in most respects.

Still, both films owe much to the contributions of Hungarian talent, and join a list of recent award-winning and blockbuster films to have been shot in the Central European country, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ multiple Oscar winner “Poor Things” and both chapters of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi showpiece “Dune.” While an attractive 30% discount is undoubtedly part of the appeal, it’s also testament to a long history of artistry and technical prowess in the Magyar industry – something Hungarian film commissioner Csaba Káel praises as the country’s “special film DNA.”

For his sprawling period drama, Corbet opted for the suddenly fashionable 70mm format, continuing a renaissance sparked by films like Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two.” “It feels bigger and more accurate to the color that a director and a colorist and all the technicians are trying to achieve. It’s the most accurate representation of the film as a finished product,” Corbet told Variety ahead of his film’s premiere.