''The Annunciation'' ( hu, Angyali üdvözlet) is a
Hungarian film directed by
András Jeles in 1984, based on ''
The Tragedy of Man
''The Tragedy of Man'' ( hu, Az ember tragédiája) is a play (theatre), play written by the Hungary, Hungarian author Imre Madách. It was first published in 1861. The play is considered to be one of the major works of Hungarian literature and ...
'' (1861) by
Imre Madách
Imre Madách de Sztregova et Kelecsény (20 January 1823 – 5 October 1864) was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer, poet, lawyer and politician. His major work is ''The Tragedy of Man'' (''Az ember tragédiája'', 1861). It is a dramatic poem appro ...
.
Plot summary
When
Adam (Péter Bocsor) and
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
(Júlia Mérő), having succumbed to Lucifer's temptation, are cast out of the
Garden of Eden, Adam holds
Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passa ...
(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. In the dream, Adam becomes
Djoser
Djoser (also read as Djeser and Zoser) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros (from Manetho) and Sesorthos (from Eusebiu ...
in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
;
Miltiades
Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon C ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
; a wealthy Roman during the time of
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
; a knight called
Tancred in
Byzantium;
Johannes Kepler in Prague;
Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In August ...
in revolutionary
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
; and a nameless suitor in
Victorian London
During the 19th century, London grew enormously to become a global city of immense importance. It was the largest city in the world from about 1825, the world's largest port, and the heart of international finance and trade. Railways connecting ...
. Guided by a deceptively sweet but ultimately contemptuous Lucifer, Adam confronts an endless procession of the horror of the human story involving rape, betrayal, savagery, mindless cruelty and fanaticism.
Cast
Production
The film is entirely performed by children. It was photographed against the fields, forests, mesas and shores of southern
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. The Annunciation is made in
Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
style.
See also
* ''
The Tragedy of Man
''The Tragedy of Man'' ( hu, Az ember tragédiája) is a play (theatre), play written by the Hungary, Hungarian author Imre Madách. It was first published in 1861. The play is considered to be one of the major works of Hungarian literature and ...
'', a 2011 animated film based on the same play
External links
*
1984 films
Hungarian drama films
Hungarian films based on plays
Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve
Cultural depictions of Georges Danton
Cultural depictions of Johannes Kepler
Films set in ancient Egypt
Films set in the 18th century
The Devil in film
{{Hungary-film-stub
French Revolution films
Films set in the Roman Empire
Films set in the Byzantine Empire
Films set in Prague
Films set in 17th-century Holy Roman Empire
Films set in London
Films set in the Victorian era
Films set in Paris