Monday, August 1, 2011

The Fifth Seal (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)
The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)


Genre: Drama
Director: Zoltán Fábri
Starring: Lajos Öze, László Márkus, Ferenc Bencze, Sándor Horváth, István Dégi, Zoltán Latinovits
Duration: 111 min.
Rating: 7.5  

Summary:
In the twilight of World War II, four friends laugh and drink together without treading on anyone's toes. One of them, however, makes an offhand remark which proves insulting to a military functionary. They are arrested, and in the process, the friends struggle to stay in touch with their own inbred ideals and sense of individualism, with varying degrees of success.

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)


The Fifth Seal is a Hungarian film directed by Zoltán Fábri, based on a novel of the same name by Ferenc Sánta.  It won the Golden Prize at the 1977 Moscow International Film Festival.

Set in Budapest in 1944 towards the end of the Second World War, it tells the story of a group of friends, Miklós (Lajos Öze) a watchmaker, László (László Márkus) a book seller, János (Sándor Horváth) a carpenter, and Béla (Ferenc Bencze) a barkeep.  They hang out in the dim light of Béla's establishment, drinking, smoking and telling tales.  One day a fifth man (István Dégi) joins their table and unbeknownst to them all, an innocent hypothetical question will change their lives forever.

It's a slow moving picture, taking its time, perhaps a little too long with dialog to establish the characters and their familiarity with one another.  But the acting is very natural and realistic, and it soon becomes evident that these are just regular Joes having fun, living their lives, trying not to draw any attention to themselves, while living under a fascist dictatorship; and despite whatever cultural background you are from, its difficult not to relate to these guys in some way.   

The underlying question that the film deals with is a philosophical one.  Given the choice, would you rather be reincarnated as a vicious and evil tyrant who commits terrible acts, or a good and noble slave who suffers through life?  A choice that these four men ultimately face when they are arrested, imprisoned, and tortured for no apparent reason; and one that makes the viewer ponder about themselves and humanity as a whole.

Bonjour Tristesse

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

The Fifth Seal / Az ötödik pecsét (1976)

8 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

Sounds really intriguing and interesting?

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I understand and I wouldn't be opposed if someone decided to remake an obscure 35 year old foreign film.  It's only when they remake films a year or two after the original, or try to remake a masterpiece that I take exception.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I hear you, this one requires a patient audience.  The first 45 minutes consists almost entirely of 5 guys sitting around a table talking.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Probably not quite the war film you were after.  I think tomorrow's post will be more up your alley.

Hoi-Ming Ng said...

Slow kinda fits my mood at the moment.

Hermann Rorschach said...

This does sound interesting, and Tristesse might slap me for this, but I would watch it if they remade it.  Something a little more relevant to my era?  Maybe I am being too hasty.  Don't slap me.

d_4 said...

You know, it sounds pretty good on its own. my only concern is how slow it might be. There are some great films that I just can't make it through because of their pace :/

Moviemonstrosityblog said...

Holy sh** this is so awesome!

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