Ordet (1955)

This is the first film I saw as part of BYU's International Cinema program, it is free and open to the public and shows a large variety of films at the Kimball Tower Tuesdays through Saturdays during Fall and Winter Semesters. Ordet is a 1955 Danish language film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, who is best known for his 1928 silent masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc, but who continued to work as a director into the mid 1960's. The film is an adaption of the 1932 play of the same title by Kaj Munk, a playwright and pastor whose martyrdom by the Nazi's during the occupation of Denmark has lead to his inclusion in the Calendar of Saints for the Lutheran Church. This is background I did not have when I saw the film, but it certainly adds context to it now that I have. Ordet apparently is Danish for "The Word" as in "The Word of God", this is a very religious film, but not in a shallow or off-putting way.

The film centers around the Borgan family, well off farmers of influence in their rural Danish community. Morton Borgan is the patriarch, elderly now he has three sons, the oldest Mikkle an atheist married to a devout and kind hearted wife named Inger, middle child Johannes, a former seminary student who went insane studying Søren Kierkegaard and believes himself to be Jesus Christ, and youngest child Anders, who is lovesick for the daughter of the leader of a local Christian religious sect with whom the devout Morton is at theological odds.The film is about faith and doubt, and has interesting things to say about the subject.

There are various crises of faith throughout and in watching the film, without much background, I didn't really know where it was going to come down on these, so for me the ending was a surprise. This could have ended more ambiguously, which is what I was anticipating as the film neared its conclusion, so its taking the stand that it ultimately did take provides a sense of religious aw that could have come off downright hokey in lesser hands. Really an impressive and moving work of art. Some strong performances and excellent cinematography.****