Ordet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the film. For the Japanese animation studio, see Ordet (company). For the word game, see Ordet (game).
Ordet

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer
Produced by Carl Th. Dreyer
Based on Ordet (play) 
by Kaj Munk
Starring Henrik Malberg
Emil Hass Christensen
Cay Kristiansen
Preben Lerdorff Rye
Music by Poul Schierbeck
Cinematography Henning Bendtsen
Editing by Edith Schlüssel
Release dates
  • 10 January 1955 (1955-01-10) (Denmark)
  • September 1955 (1955-09) (Venice)
  • 15 December 1957 (1957-12-15) (USA)
Running time 126 min.
Country Denmark
Language Danish

Ordet (Danish pronunciation: [ˈoːˀʁəð],[1] meaning "The Word" and originally released as The Word in English[2]) is a 1955 Danish drama film, directed by Carl Th. Dreyer. It is based on a play by Kaj Munk, a Danish Lutheran priest, first performed in 1932. The film won the Golden Lion at the 16th Venice International Film Festival, and was the only film by Dreyer to be both a critical and financial success.[3]

Plot

The film centers around the Borgen family in rural Denmark. The devout widower Morten, patriarch of the family, prominent member of the community, and patron of the local parish church, has three sons. Mikkel, the eldest, has no faith, but is happily married to the pious Inger, who is pregnant with their third child. Johannes, who went insane studying Søren Kierkegaard, believes himself to be Jesus Christ and wanders the farm condemning the age's lack of faith, including that of his family and the modern-minded new pastor of the village. The youngest son, Anders, is lovesick for the daughter of the leader of a local Christian religious sect.

Anders confesses to Mikkel and Inger that he loves Anne Petersen, the daughter of Peter the Tailor. They agree to convince Morten to assent to the match. Later, Inger attempts to convince Morten to allow Anders to marry Anne. Morten angrily refuses, but changes his mind when he finds out Peter has refused Anders' proposal. Morten and Anders go to meet Peter, in order to negotiate the betrothal.

Morten tries to convince Peter to permit the marriage, but he continues to refuse unless Morten and Anders join his sect. As the discussion collapses into sectarian bickering, Morten receives a call announcing that Inger has gone into a difficult labor. Peter says that Inger's difficulties are punishment from God for Morten not joining his sect. Furious at Peter's comments, Morten attacks Peter and storms out with Anders, the two of them rushing home. While the doctor is forced to abort the baby, he is able to save Inger's life. After the doctor and pastor leave, Johannes angers his father by telling him that death is nearby and will take Inger, unless Morten has faith in him. Morten refuses to listen and, as prophesied, Inger dies suddenly.

While preparing to go to Inger's funeral, Peter realizes that he has wronged Morten terribly, and reconciles with him over Inger's open coffin, agreeing to permit Anne and Anders to marry. Johannes suddenly interrupts the wake, approaches Inger's coffin, and proclaims that she can be raised from the dead if the family will only have faith and ask God to do so. Inger's daughter takes Johannes' hand and impatiently asks him to raise her mother from the dead. Johannes praises her childlike faith and asks God to raise Inger, who begins to breathe and twitch in her coffin. Seeing what seems to be the miracle of resurrection, both Morten and Peter rejoice, forgetting their religious differences. As Inger sits up, Mikkel embraces her and proclaims that he has finally found faith.[4]

Cast

Actor Role
Gerda Nielsen Anne Petersen
Sylvia Eckhausen Kirstin Petersen
Ejner Federspiel Peter Petersen
Cay Kristiansen Anders Borgen
Birgitte Federspiel Inger Borgen
Emil Hass Christensen Mikkel Borgen, her husband
Susanne Rud Lilleinger Borgen, Mikkel's Daughter
Ann Elisabeth Rud Maren Borgen, Mikkel's Daughter
Preben Lerdorff Rye Johannes Borgen
Henrik Malberg Morten Borgen
Ove Rud Pastor
Henry Skjær (da) The Doctor
Edith Trane Mette Maren
Hanne Agesen Karen, A servant

Production

After several years of financial problems having stalled his film career, Dreyer was awarded a lifelong lease to the Dagmar Bio, an art-house movie theater in Copenhagen, in 1952.[5] The Danish government had often given such awards to older artists and the profits from the theater allowed Dreyer to begin production on a new film through Palladium Studios.[6] Dreyer chose to adapt Kaj Munk's play I Begyndelsen var Ordet (In the Beginning was the Word), which was written in 1925 and premiered in Copenhagen in 1932. Munk had himself finished a script for a film version, which he unsuccessfully tried to sell to the production company Nordisk Film. In 1943 a Swedish film version was made, directed by Gustaf Molander and starring Victor Sjöström,[7] which couldn't premiere in Denmark until after the war.[3] Dreyer had attended the play's premiere in 1932 and had been writing notes for a film adaptation since 1933.[8] The film is mostly faithful to Munk's original play, but the film's opening scene was written by Dreyer and inspired by a passage from Munk's memoir.[9]

Dreyer shot the film in Vedersø, a village in Jutland where Munk had served as a Lutheran priest.[10] For Dreyer's adaption, only one third of the original dialogue was used.[3] Although he was careful to stay true to Munk's original intention of the play's message, he cut dialogue down to the bare essentials resulting in a minimalist film.[10] Another difference is the play's possibility of Inger just appearing to be dead, while the film is very clear about the resurrection being a genuine miracle.[3] Dreyer would spend several days rehearsing scenes with his actors as the technicians set up each scene. Birgitte Federspiel said that Dreyer never verbally told the actors when he was pleased with their performances and would simply smile when they were performing the way that he wanted them to.[11] Dreyer used mostly long takes and a slow moving camera, as his style had been gradually progressing towards for several years. He also paid close attention to every minute detail during filming and later said that he "made the film crew equip the kitchen with everything he considered right for a country kitchen. Then...he set about removing the objects. Finally, only ten to fifteen remained, but they were just what were wanted to create the right psychological illusion."[10] Federspiel said that Dreyer personally picked out costumes for every actor and even went shopping for stocking with her. He also hired a linguistic specialist to make sure that all the actors spoke the same dialect as the characters that they played. Dreyer disliked light meters and preferred to deduce the correct exposure at each location by eye. Federspiel said that “Lighting was his great gift and he did it with expertise. He shaped light artistically like a sculptor or a painter would.”[11]

Release and reception

The film premiered on 10 January 1955 at Dagmar Teatret in Copenhagen.[3] It was Dreyer's first film since The Passion of Joan of Arc to immediately receive critical praise and was especially popular in his native Denmark by both critics and audiences, as well as by critics in other countries. It also won the Golden Lion at the 16th Venice International Film Festival.[12]

Critic Tom Milne said that "the interior scenes are luminous with a sense of expansive affection arising from the rich, warmly observed detail of the relationship...Throughout the film Dreyer's emphasis is on the density of emotion allied to gesture which he first explored in Master of the House.[13] Critic Robin Wood also praised the film, but said that "our sense of the interdependence of the characters and their actions is communicated visually...one cannot but admire the total essentials, a process that certainly imbues those essentials with expressive intensity. At the same time, I find it difficult not to react against the style as repressive and deadening."[12]

It has been released on DVD by The Criterion Collection with spine number 126, as part of a box set with the other Dreyer films Day of Wrath and Gertrud.[14]

Awards

It was among films honored with the 1956 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, as well as the National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Film. At the 1955 Bodil Awards it won for Best Actor (Emil Hass Christensen), Best Actress (Birgitte Federspiel), and tied for Best Danish films. The film was also entered into the 16th Venice International Film Festival and won its highest prize, the Golden Lion. It is currently ranked as the number one most spiritually significant film of all time by Arts and Faith online community.

References

  1. ↑ Forvo: Pronunciation of "ordet" in Swedish and Danish Retrieved 2013-03-12
  2. ↑ IMDb: Ordet, also known as The Word Retrieved 2013-03-12
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Ordet in the Danish Film Institute database (Danish)
  4. ↑ Dreyer, Carl Theodor. Four Screenplays. Bloomington & London: Indiana University Press. 1970. ISBN 253-12740-8. pp. 239–298.
  5. ↑ Milne, Tom. The Cinema of Carl Dreyer. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co.. 1971. SBN 498-07711-X. p. 156.
  6. ↑ Wakeman, John. World Film Directors, Volume 2. The H. W. Wilson Company. 1988. 271.
  7. ↑ Milne. p. 156.
  8. ↑ Dreyer. pp. 19–20.
  9. ↑ Dreyer. p. 20.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Wakeman. p. 271.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ordet DVD Special Features. Birgitte Federspiel interview. The Criterion Collection. 2011.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Wakeman. p. 272.
  13. ↑ Wakeman. pp. 271–272.
  14. ↑ Ordet at The Criterion Collection

External links

Films
Related topics
1949–1968
1980–present
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.