There are intriguing characters and story lines to be had in this week’s two biggest new releases. Here’s why you should make their acquaintance.

“The Brutalist” >> Brady Corbet’s audacious decades-spanning epic is a stunner to behold, a meticulously crafted piece of cinematic finery that is filmed in glorious VistaVision and is something you gawk at in the same manner that a tourist does when seeing Brutalist architect Le Corbusier’s influential, iconic structure “Unité d’Habitation” in France.

A key contrast, however, is that the work of Cobert is far more approachable and inviting than the often impenetrable and stoic lines that defined the Brutalist style that arose in the 1950s. structures allow.

Cobert started out as an actor and then vociferously burst out as a filmmaker with 2015’s bracing “The Childhood of a Leader” and followed up that passionate feature with the ambitious “Vox Lux.” He and his co-screenwriter Mona Fastvold resolve the indifference some might have over Brutalism architecture by pouring a rich, dense narrative foundation that re-creates the brutal realities that one Hungarian Jewish immigrant family confronts during the late 1940s and 1950s. But the film doubles as a metaphorical statement about the barrage of assaults creative types endure as they stick to their artistic convictions while the the fat-cats around them threaten to chip away at their vision and their sanity.

In essence, Corbet’s ambitious saga is a lament about Hollywood’s corporate mentality as well as a damning, topical look at the post-World War II American Dream and how why it remained out of reach for so many refugees seeking a better way of life after fleeing tyranny.

Corbet’s film operates on multiple levels, but its success derives not just from its writing and direction but its cast and the various artisans who contributed in making a less than $10 million drama look like a mammoth $150 million spectacle. It’s truly remarkable what they constructed on such a limited budget.

Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce provide much of the acting fireworks. Golden Globe winner Brody delivers his best performance since his 2003 Oscar-winning tour de force in Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist.” Portraying Hungarian architect László Tóth marked another demanding challenge and Brody is more than equal to the task, conveying the torment of a flawed man.

László is renowned for his architecture designs, but encounters creative roadblocks once he arrives in Philadelphia. His wife, the traumatized but resilient Erzsébet (Felicity Jones), and niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) join him later. Initially, László stays with his furniture store owner cousin Atilla (Alessandro Nivola) and his wife. He eventually lands a design gig to renovate the library of wealthy entrepreneur Harrison Lee Van Buren (Pearce), a short-fused momma’s boy with two adult children (Joe Alwyn and Stacy Martin). The redesign catches the attention of others and after a big dustup between László and Lee, a deal is struck for László to design a huge monolithic-looking institute dedicated to Lee’s mom on land next to the family estate.

It becomes a deal with the devil with the dandy Lee, portrayed with charm and venom by Pearce, demanding more than a pound of flesh from a man he views as inferior to him. Their tangled relationship becomes more volatile as the building progresses.

The performances are all skilled, but so is everything else associated with the film, from the exacting production design from Judy Becker to the evocative cinematography from Lol Crawley and on to the distinctive score from Daniel Blumberg.

Every piece of the architectural design of “The Brutalist” fits so perfectly into Corbet’s vision, a sprawling yet intimate story that leaps forward to the 1980s and even has the moxie to flip the philosophical switch on a famous Ralph Waldo Emerson quote about journeys versus destinations.

Details >> 4 stars out of 4; in theaters Jan. 10.

“September 5” >> At a time when it seems meatier cinematic fare is obligated to weigh in at more than two hours, there’s something most welcome about director Tim Fehlbaum’s expedient and altogether terrific 95-minute pulse-pounder. He and co-screenwriters Moritz S. Binder and Alex David’s thriller puts us dead center into the sweat-inducing control booth as ABC Sports producers and crew members scramble to cover the deadly Munich Summer Olympics that one fateful day in 1972. This ticking time-bomb account confines itself (mostly) to the inner sanctum of that harried TV newsroom where a hot-shot newbie producer Geoff (John Magaro from “Past Lives”) guides the coverage and makes both good and bad calls in the shocking aftermath of Israeli athletes getting taken hostage.

The ensuing chaos spins way out of control, making it hard to ascertain what is truth and what is fiction. Impactful decisions get hashed over quickly about how to update and convey the latest details responsibly and accurately to viewers and it makes for an unbearably suspenseful experience. “September 5” is seamless throughout with powerful acting by Magaro, Peter Sarsgaard and Leonie Benesch. It also gets all the production details right, from the clunky cameras to the wardrobe styles and frantic arrangement of alphabet tiles to use as descriptors on screen. It’s a gripping historical account from start to finish.

Details >> 3½ stars, in theaters Jan. 10.