Not all great cinematographers find ample work in their native regions, not enough to fill a career at least. And who'd have guessed that one Reinier van Brummelen wouldn't have to venture beyond his homeland of the Netherlands for such a rare opportunity? Indeed, the work came to him. British filmmaker Peter Greenaway, who once wanted to be a painter and whose films both are inspired by and examine Flemish art, decided at some point in the 1990s that mainstream international attention just wasn't right for him. He moved to Amsterdam, having already established strong creative partnerships with several top Dutch artists in film; when Greenaway's long-time DP, the legendary Sacha Vierny, died, he turned to his new countryman Reinier van Brummelen, who'd been co-DP alongside Vierny on 1999's 8 1/2 Women for Greenaway, and a new partnership was formed.
While van Brummelen hasn't restricted himself to working solely with Greenaway since then - alas, a girl's gotta eat - it's the incredible, innovative, dazzling work they've done together that comprises both the second half of the director's career and the vast majority of the cinematographer's best work. All of the titles in today's CineTribute montage - envisaged and edited entirely by myself, as per - are Greenaway/van Brummelen collabs, and all are fabulous examples of some of the most radical and remarkable cinematography in modern cinema. Not all great Dutch cinematographers find ample acclaim working in their native regions, and consequently van Brummelen is not commonly considered one of the world's great working DPs. But maybe mainstream international attention just isn't right for him either. Because whatever he's doing, and has been for over 20 years now, is most certainly right!
Films featured
8 1/2 Women, 1999
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story, 2003
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 2: Vaux to the Sea, 2004
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish, 2004
A Life in Suitcases, 2005
Nightwatching, 2007
Goltzius and the Pelican Company, 2012
Just in Time, 2013
Eisenstein in Guanajuato, 2015