ORDET Movie Review

The Word

A man who believes he is Christ (Preben Lerdorff-Rye) is ridiculed until be begins performing miracles—including a resurrection—that result in the healing of a broken family. Danish director Carl Dreyer's statement on the continuing struggle between religious dogma and personal faith is a profoundly demanding work of art from the deeply religious Dreyer. Ordet (The Word) was based on the play by Kaj Munk, a Danish pastor who was murdered by the Nazis in 1944. A rigorous intellectual exercise, the film is itself an act of faith in the power of cinema to transform human thought and beliefs. As derided as it is praised, Ordet is the spellbinding, utterly sincere, and overwhelmingly beautiful work of a great artist.

NEXT STOP … The Passion of Joan of Arc, Diary of a Country Priest, Simon of the Desert

1955 126m/B DK Henrik Malberg; D: Carl Theodor Dreyer. Golden Globe Awards ‘56: Best Foreign Film; Venice Film Festival ‘55: Best Film. VHS NOS, WFV, HEG