Cinema
The Word
Ordet
Carl Th. Dreyer · 1955
Synopsis
On a farm in western Jutland, old Morten Borgen, a fervent believer, works his land with his three sons. The eldest, Mikkel, married to Inger, who is expecting a child, has lost his faith; Johannes, a former theology student, believes himself to be Christ and roams the heath prophesying; the youngest, Anders, wants to marry the tailor's daughter, whom a different way of believing sets against the Borgens. The father goes to confront the tailor, and it is then that Inger's labour begins to go badly.
Context
The film adapts the play that the pastor Kaj Munk had written in 1932; Dreyer, who had long wanted to bring it to the screen, was able to do so thanks to the takings of the cinema he had been granted and to the Palladium company. It was released on 10 January 1955. The film has only 114 shots for more than two hours, and the actors sometimes had to count their steps while speaking their lines; Henrik Malberg returned as old Borgen, a role Munk had written for him. Dreyer made only one more film after this one.
Who it is for
Two hours, in Danish, in very long static shots. The last part requires having accepted the film's rhythm.
Prizes and reception
Golden Lion at Venice in 1955; his only film to be both a critical and a popular success, regularly ranked among the greatest films in the history of cinema.
Sources for this page 8
The pages consulted to check this page.