The Annunciation (film)

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The Annunciation (Angyali üdvözlet)
A Crucifixion in Byzantium
Directed by	András Jeles
Produced by	Unknown
Written by	András Jeles Imre Madách
Starring	Péter Bocsor Júlia Mérö Eszter Gyalog
Music by	István Márta
Cinematography	Béla Ferenczy Sándor Kardos
Editing by	Margit Galamb Zsuzsa Pósán
Distributed by	Award Films
Release date(s)	1984
Running time	100 Min
Language	Hungarian
Budget	Unknown

The Annunciation (in Hungarian: Angyali üdvözlet) is a Hungarian film directed by András Jeles in 1984, based on The Tragedy of Man (1861) by Imre Madách.

[edit] Plot summary

When Adam (Péter Bocsor) and Eve (Júlia Mérő), having succumbed to Lucifer's temptation, are cast out of the Garden of Eden, Adam holds Lucifer (Eszter Gyalog) to his promise, reminding him that "You said I would know everything!". So Lucifer grants Adam a dream of the world to come. And what a bizarre dream: Adam becomes Miltiades in Athens; a knight called Tancred in Byzantium; Kepler in Prague; Danton in revolutionary Paris; and a nameless suitor in Victorian London. Guided by a deceptively sweet but ultimately contemptuous Lucifer, Adam confronts an endless procession of the horror of the human story ... rapists and concubines, betrayal and savagery, mindless cruelty and fanaticism.

[edit] Production

The film is entirely performed by children. Superbly photographed against the breathtaking fields, forests, mesas and shores of southern Hungary, colourfully costumed and stunningly acted, The Annunciation makes Pasolini-like uses of its youthful cast to illustrate the horror and irrationality of our times.