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.
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.