Directed by Zoltán Fábri • 1976 • Hungary

Considered by many to be Zoltán Fábri’s masterpiece, The Fifth Seal is a war drama with a difference. During the brief, brutal rule of the fascist Arrow Cross Party in the closing days of the Second World War, five friends convene in a Budapest bar. Watchmaker Miklós (Lajos Őze) poses his companions an unusual hypothetical: would they rather live as comfortable tyrants or conscientious slaves? As the forces of darkness gather on the streets outside, this throwaway question soon takes on terrifying real-world significance. Replete with philosophical, Biblical, and art historical references and shot in Fábri’s distinctive, fluid style, The Fifth Seal is a chamber drama both claustrophobic and expansive.

THE FIFTH SEAL • AZ ÖTÖDIK PECSÉT
Written and directed by Zoltán Fábri
From the novel by Ferenc Sánta
Cinematography by György Illés
Music by György Vukán
Starring: Lajos Őze, László Márkus, Sándor Horváth

In Hungarian with English subtitles