Jób lázadása

"The Revolt of Job" tells the story of a childless Jewish couple in WWII-era Hungary who adopt a Hungarian boy. They raise him with their values and traditions. Unfortunately, the Nazis eventually come and round up all Jewish families in the village. The final scene shows the boy watching as his parents are hauled away like cattle.

I don't know whether or not Hitler's Third Reich was the most evil act in history; there have been numerous genocides throughout the centuries. Maybe the Third Reich is different to the extent that Europe, at least, has had such a hard time getting over it. Some of the greatest movies ("The Great Dictator" and "Schindler's List", for example) have dealt with the Third Reich. "The Revolt of Job" certainly belongs in that number. After watching this movie, you will never be able to forget what people went through in Hungary. It is truly a masterpiece.

I saw this film in the early '80s. The Public Broadcasting System thought it worthy of airing in the Boston area. A truly remarkable and irrepressible little boy is adopted by an old Jewish couple. (I read that the director of the movie interviewed over 1000 children to find the little actor in this story.) The movie is filmed in Hungary just before the Nazi invasion. The country village is colorful and charming. Yet one knows what is coming. The ominous foreboding is off set by the wonder of the relationships. He collects frogs in a bucket and accidentally lets the out in the kitchen. Then the fun of catching them. The couple teach this little gentile their rich Jewish traditions. And then the inevitable... As a gentile, I found the Jewish life -wonderful. And because of it, have become hooked on Jewish film festivals. I love this film and want to see it again!

Before1990 when Hungary and Yugoslavia were under communist control (of one sort or another) they made some extraordinary movies about the 2nd World War and its aftermath. 'The Revolt of Job' is one such film from Hungary.

Other reviewers have eulogised about this movie, in particular its take on the plight of the Hungarian Jews during WW2. I don't disagree, but I think 'Elysium' (1986) also from Hungary presents the same subject matter, i.e. the personalised story of a European Jewish family during the war, but views it from a different and (in my view) more realistic perspective which outshines 'The Revolt of Job' at every level. Having said that this is still a great film and I don't want to take away from its impact as it has a strong story that's well told. Cinematography and acting are also of a high quality.

Middle aged Job and Roza are Jewish farmers in a rural farming community. Job obtains by barter a young boy from an orphanage. Their seven children all died young and Job and Roza want to be able to pass the farm on even if it is to an adopted son. They are aware of the dangers facing the Jews in a country under Nazi control, so they deliberately choose a gentile child to be their heir. The film follows their lives and blossoming relationships as the boy becomes used to Roza and Job and accepts them as his parents. Unfortunately, anyone with even a slight knowledge of 20th Century history will have some idea about whether Job and Roza's fears for their future would come true.

This movie is probably the best holocaust-movie ever made. Not operating with violent scenes or showing hordes of German soldiers or SS-criminals, gas chambers or concentration camps, but every single minute of the movie is full with fear, love, and struggle for a future. The shepherd's stubborn fight against his own destiny and the destiny of his people filled with so much plain human depth what is almost unbearable. I saw men crying like babies watching this movie (I must admit - I was one of them) because its beauty and tragedy are simply not conceivable. You feel hopelessly lost and helpless, but somehow being a better human being by the catharsis. The movie is also a trustworthy, authentic and accurate testimony of the destiny of hundreds of thousands of Jews from the rural countryside in Hungary. A must see.

I always thought of Ferenc Zenthe as a tv actor. He used to be in more productions he had hours in a day. He was Hungary's darlin for decades, for the country boy roles with the country boy looks, wisdom and righteousness.

In the same time (decades), there were no movies about the holocaust. Nobody wanted to touch the subject that would reveal that half the country was pleased with the Jews carried away into death camps as long as it wasn't them.

So it came a total shock to me that 1) Zenthe can act 2) a movie this beautiful and heart-wrenching can be made in Hungary from the memories and guilt we had had. Zenthe transformed into a giant in this movie, it wasn't a performance but a complete transformation. It was subtle, restrained, nuanced, accurate and divine. Probably in the top 3 movies of all the Hungary's rich collection.