Annunciation

This film (drama)Also known asAngyali üdvözlet，is aHungaryProducerwomen sex，At1984Released in year 。The dialogue language isHungarian，Current Douban rating7.8(For reference only)。

This is a very strange film, Annunciation --- I checked the dictionary, and besides meaning "proclamation" or "announcement," it also means "the Annunciation," referring to the day when the angel informed the Virgin Mary of her impending birth of Jesus, which is March 25th in the Western calendar. This indicates that the film has deep mystical and religious content. Indeed, part of the film is adapted from the well-known story of Adam and Eve, where Adam and Eve were tempted by a serpent transformed by Satan and ended up eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil, leading to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden by an angry God. The film does not delve too much into what happened in Eden but focuses on the strange journey Adam and Eve experience after their expulsion, a journey entirely imagined by the director! Adam becomes a general in ancient Athens, later escaping from Athens to become a crusader during the Byzantine period, a revolutionary leader during the French Revolution, a survivor and witness during the spread of the Black Death in Europe, and even a vagabond on the streets of London. Adam and Eve endure countless betrayals and wildness, cruelty and fascism, sin and fear... Director András Jeles's imaginative and bizarre creativity fills this film with mysticism and metaphorical imagery and content, while time itself has long faded in the film’s surrealist and symbolic cinematic language. What is even more unique is that all the actors in the film are a group of children aged 8 to 12! To call it a children's film seems inappropriate; I am curious why the director chose a group of children to portray such themes of the dark side of human nature in an epic film that is profound and hard to understand. The dialogue throughout the film, poetic and dramatic, seems too difficult for a bunch of pre-teens, and certain nude scenes also seem challenging for underage children to act. The director attempts to use a younger cast to express the dark terrors and absurdities of certain eras more profoundly, which is reminiscent of the Italian director Pasolini's style, such as in his controversial work "Salò," only in this case, the film exceeds that. However, one must admire that all the children deliver stunning performances, showcasing their extraordinary ability to navigate complex and profound roles. The wonderful cinematography spanning the southern plains of Hungary, mountains, ancient castles, and coasts, combined with the young actors' excellent performances, makes this strange and unique film even more memorable, providing us with a bizarre adventure about existentialism. Moreover, having children perform in adult-themed films is rare in film history; perhaps this is just an odd way that a very few unconventional directors express their film intentions more profoundly. I once saw a film called "MALADOLESCENZA" that did the same, using children to portray a complex adult love triangle, leaving me with a completely fresh and beautifully heartbreaking feeling, devoid of any so-called dirt or filth. I think this is a unique style of such highly controversial films. It is also worth mentioning that the cinematography and music in this film are remarkable, with dreamy cinematography paired with moving choral music in the background, making it feel like a beautiful dream.