Timothy Spall (also in The Last Bus and It Snows in Benidorm) and Peter Stormare star as a cantankerous architect and an eccentric billionaire in this intriguing homage to Peter Greenaway from Australian writer-director Daniel Graham.
Architect Alfred Rott’s (Spall) reputation as a womanising, foul-mouthed genius follows him like a shadow. After falling out with authorities over a new Arts Centre in Brussels, Rott is handed a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to visit the wealthy and eccentric recluse on the island of Malta who calls himself 'The Grand Duke Of Corsica'. The Grand Duke (Stormare) commissions Alfred to build him a personalized mausoleum in preparation for his own death.
When a malaria outbreak on the island causes the entire population to flee, fires break out and pandemonium ensues. But Alfred must remain to finish the project that may be the greatest, yet most invisible, creation of his remarkable career.
Interwoven with a parallel storyline of a 13th century young man who is set on his path to becoming St. Francis of Assisi, with The Obscure Life of the Grand Duke of Corsica, Graham delivers a fascinating mediation on life, love and architecture.
