gummo_rabbit One of the most ambitious films I have ever seen and it delivers throughout. The visuals are stunning, the score plays a significant role in the atmosphere and the use of child actors adds fundamental new meaning to the original stage play. It's a philosophical view on good and evil and tackles the big questions of life via poetry, history and surrealism. Though made to look like a dream, it touches on profound questions of reality.One scene which was particularly though-provoking was the one in which a woman gives birth while standing above an open grave. The cycle of life and death, hinted at by the quote from Ecclesiastes right at the beginning, is here taken to its visual extreme. This harrowing image is followed by a very serene sequence, portraying the eternal peace of the deceased.In all of this the choice for child actors adds extra layers of meaning. Their very age seems to comment on the issues shown: death, violence, injustice and so on. There is a lot of blood and a lot of lust shown on screen, but the actors are still playing hide and seek and let's pretend in real life. It's that mixture of playful innocence and adult history, adorned with some of the most beautiful literary quotes, which gives this film its daring and unique style.One of the themes running through the film is the question of how we look at the world, at ourselves and at history. The movie challenges us to open up and accept unusual viewpoints, which is what all great art does, in my opinion. It's necessary, especially when confronted with violence and injustice and forced to look for solutions.I do admit it's trying at times and it was mostly out of curiosity to see this remarkable achievement all the way through that I watched the whole thing. Still, it left me with an impression unlike anything else I have seen before. I wonder what the actors think of the film now that they have all grown up and how they look back on their experience in making it. Maybe it felt just like a dream.

ganymede_901 This is a beautiful and daring adaptation of a classic piece of Hungarian theatre. The play was originally written as "The Tragedy of Man" and to this date is regarded as Imre Madách's masterpiece. The first time I read the play, I was amazed by the breadth and scope of it and actually thought "This will never make it to screen - it's too big."For more information on the play, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Mad%C3%A1ch - warning, the Wiki article contains spoilers.I now own a copy of it and enjoy it every time I watch it. The movie adaptation can be a bit daunting for those who have not read the play, so in my opinion, reading it is defiantly recommended.I only have two issues with the movie:1) Only ten of the original fifteen acts are included.2) The entire cast is children. An interesting conceit, but not really necessary as the original protagonists were written in standard mode, ie: kings, nuns, soldiers, etc. were portrayed as adults.Overall, a very good movie with terrific locations, photography and acting from it's young cast.

drjamesaustin Every now and then I read a book or see a movie that leaves me increasingly puzzled, even frustrated - until suddenly, towards the end, everything comes together and it all makes sense (the first time I remember this was John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany"). This movie is just such a creation.The plot idea is superb: Adam and Eve, having succumbed to Lucifer's temptation, are cast out of the garden of Eden. Adam holds Lucifer to his promise: "You said I would know everything!"; so Lucifer, in return, 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 industrial London. All of the episodes end in tragedy, and all involve a man separated for ever from his true love.Other critics have commented on how the episodes become increasingly surreal and confusing, and by three-quarters of the way through the movie I was as bewildered as anyone. But it is when Adam awakes, and Eve tells him that she is carrying his child, that it all starts to come together. Adam has seen his descendants create a world that spirals into madness; and he has also seen that in his misguided attempt to stay forever with Eve, he has condemned all his descendants to separation, whether by death, deceit, adultery, or even misguided piety. His heartfelt plea to God as he clutches his pregnant wife's abdomen - "Lord, shall my kind progress, or like cattle in the treadmill stay within the circle?" - is a challenge. Have we progressed, or have we fulfilled Lucifer's vision of a self-created Hell? The movie is beautifully filmed, with little bizarre touches weaving a dream-like milieu. There are some fine performances, particularly from the eerily beautiful Lucifer. All-in-all a weird and thought-provoking movie.

KurtMac Some movies tell a very good story, others get lost in the imagery and scenes. This movie falls in between both of these cases. I think it starts off telling a great story and from an unique perspective. As the story continues though, it becomes more and more obscure in the historical imagery and myths. By the time the movie ends, you are just grateful to make it until the end, but not without dozing off from time to time.Believe it or not, I still enjoyed it, just don't make a sequel, please!