Agnus Dei (1971) Godard & Larping Via a Hungarian Master Director (Review)

Rounding out our coverage of Second Run’s acclaimed Hungarian Masters boxset, following Current and Merry-go-round is Miklós Jancsó’s Agnus Dei. The prior have something of a social realist streak to them, whether they were steadfast in their subscription to the stylistic tics or used it as a cinematic tradition to subvert. We’ve featured Jancso’s work before with his hugely idiosyncratic 1974 film – Electra, My Love, and it is fair to say that neither that nor this have any “reality” to them. To take that further, I’d compare these two films to latter-day Roy Anderson in that nobody makes films like this, absolutely no one. They are both laws unto themselves. 

Jancso is a pioneer of the unbroken tracking camera; there are more cuts here than in his 1974 project, but it is no less a calling card. Another consistency between the two films is the lack of traditional sets. Jancso shot his two Second Run released films in the middle of a big field, literally. Not to deflate the Hungarian director’s achievement, as his camera moves with glorious intent. And, the number of performers on screen in the climactic scenes and the sheer number of moving parts he is balancing is enough to make any director green with envy. Just because he is moving those parts around a field does not make his direction any less remarkable.

Agnus Dei opens with a camera wandering through a makeshift stable with countless horses left alone. For the first 5 minutes, we don’t see anything beyond horses and the vast greenery – the first character is a naked woman walking out of a body of water with a horse in tow. At first, the camera ambled through an isolated expanse, however, in good time, we come to observe a series of interlinked episodes that reframe the suppression of the 1919 Hungarian revolution and the subsequent advent of fascism into more symbolic terms. Entailing numerous massacres, violence that fanatical priest called Vargha (József Madaras) plays a pivotal albeit conflicted role in. Eventually, another force emerges intent on avenging the people only they incept a new form of repression. As in Electra, My Love – it isn’t immediately obvious what the story is as, above all else, this is an allegory. One rampant with dialogue directly quoted from religious scripture and political discourse. As alluded to, this is an art film with a capital A.

In many ways, this is a classic example of what makes a “second run” film a “second run film”. Upon discovering the label, most will go through this process as the titles they release are from countries that haven’t had a breakthrough with the world cinema mainstream. Often their films are appreciated most for their visuals and flair, as they often skew heavily towards the allegorical. On the surface, Agnus Dei is elliptical and hard to relate to due to factors like many characters speaking exclusively via book & speech quotes. Then there is the fact that it ostensibly lands somewhere between an open-air historical recreation and larping – more former than latter. I have no shame admitting here that I am often overwhelmed by films such as what Miklós Jancsó has done here, but I have become a fan of Second Run, nonetheless.

If a vast knowledge of European history was vital to appreciate any title released by Second Run, they would have never lasted as long as they have. Not only have they lasted 15 years, but they are also flourishing because of the artistry they champion. Not artistry as a collective summation of the art film – artistry in they consistently transcend the question of whether you understood something or not. Valerie and her Week of Wonders spoke to me as it took European Gothic Horror to an all-new high, Wolfhammer spoke to me because of how much it blew the popular witch trial films out of the water with its absolute fearlessness. And, Agnus Dei wowed me for the same reason as Howard Hawks His Girl Friday did, it elevates the role of director to a different form where it becomes the work of wonderous choreography. Not many films like this out there in the wild.

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THANK YOU FOR READING ROB’S REVIEW OF AGNUS DEI (1971)