The Annunciation (1984)

This is a beautiful and daring adaptation of a classic piece of Hungarian theatre. The play was originally written as "The Tragedy of Man" and to this date is regarded as Imre Madách's masterpiece. The first time I read the play, I was amazed by the breadth and scope of it and actually thought "This will never make it to screen - it's too big."For more information on the play, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Mad%C3%A1ch - warning, the Wiki article contains spoilers.I now own a copy of it and enjoy it every time I watch it. The movie adaptation can be a bit daunting for those who have not read the play, so in my opinion, reading it is defiantly recommended.I only have two issues with the movie:1) Only ten of the original fifteen acts are included.2) The entire cast is children. An interesting conceit, but not really necessary as the original protagonists were written in standard mode, ie: kings, nuns, soldiers, etc. were portrayed as adults.Overall, a very good movie with terrific locations, photography and acting from it's young cast.

This is probably one of the most dense films ever made. For that reason, Angyali üdvözlet will find a very small audience. But if there is one thing that this film does very well it is creating some very good surreal visuals - and this is not to be understated. Surrealist film lovers should make this a must see.At its core, the film is about Lucifer's premonition of the tragedy of mankind as told to Adam and Eve in a dream after they are banned from Eden. The dream starts at Athens, where Adam, Eve and their son find themselves at the wrong end of the first form of democracy, which is an irrational mob rule - they are the "royals" and when Adam fails to deliver the wishes of the people, he is killed.Adam later finds himself in Byzantium as what I can only speculate, a Roman soldier. At this point, the film kind of becomes confusing to anyone who isn't highly educated in European history. So after this, the film is technically very hard to follow, but visually, it's a kind of surreal experience. It goes to periods in the history of western civilization which are some of the most bloody and repressive. Lucifers plan here in telling these premonitions to Adam and Eve was to try to get them to end their lives, because if they did, it would prevent all of these future tragedies from happening.There are times where you can tell that the film was probably rushed through post production. But overall, it's a miracle that such a film was made in the first place. It's a cast composed entirely of children, but they do quite well at taking direction from Jeles. You can tell that their performances were a kind of "you stand there" kind of thing. While Adam, Eve and Lucifer are the only characters with character, the supporting cast's mechanical performances create an appropriate contrast and set the mood of the film quite effectively.My biggest problem with the film is the VHS transfer; it's terrible. I can only hope that in the future this film is given proper distribution. But it is so obscure I doubt it ever will.

This is a very well acted play (brought to film, then to video), however, it is not likely that the majority of movie watchers will take pleasure in it. The beginning is biblical fact, and then it becomes the writers idea. It is based upon the book of Genesis and Ecclesiastes, with a touch of the New Testament. In the beginning it is Biblical Fact (Genesis)-> Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, tempted by Satan to eat of the fruit that gives the knowledge of good and evil. HOWEVER, after they are sent from Eden, the story becomes the imagination of the writer! When I first watched this movie, I shook my head and thought it was a heartless, worthless effort to depress people. I just wanted it to end. BUT the ending summed it all up for me and I appreciated the entire movie for it! I do not know why the entire movie is performed by children (between 8 and 12 years of age), but I do know that they did an outstanding job!!! Yes, it is STRANGE, but isn't that what makes a movie unique!?

Some movies tell a very good story, others get lost in the imagery and scenes. This movie falls in between both of these cases. I think it starts off telling a great story and from an unique perspective. As the story continues though, it becomes more and more obscure in the historical imagery and myths. By the time the movie ends, you are just grateful to make it until the end, but not without dozing off from time to time.Believe it or not, I still enjoyed it, just don't make a sequel, please!