Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Ordet
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Ordet opens amidst a peaceful expanse of hilly mountains. A cottage house sits comfortably among the plains. The camera pans lazily to reveal a barn. Such exquisite tranquility will not be repeated in Ordet again, of which mostly will be set within the interior confines of houses. When Carl Dreyer shoots location again, they are links – horses as a form of transportation to show characters travelling from on ehouse to another; and in certain cases, to generate audience anxiety.
Based on a play by Kaj Munk, a Danish pastor killed during the Nazis regime in 1944, Ordet is a moving piece, despite its slow moving scenes with characters seemingly devoid of emotions and seen in a distance.
Morten Borgen (Henrik Malberg) is the family patriarch of a farm who believes in the traditional Christianity – being joyful and celebrating life. His third son, Anders (Cay Kristiansen) falls in love with Peter (Ejner Federspiel), the tailor’s daughter, Anne (Gerda Nielsen), but was met with objection from the men of both families because they could not reconcile their religious differences. Peter’s family, the Skraedders, belong to a group of strict fundamentalists who believed otherwise from the Borgens, that to seek God is to be hard on oneself, ask for forgiveness and dare to look on the darker side of humanity.
On the surface, it appears that the drama represents the conflicts of faith on a secular level but it soon gives way to a greater foreboding tragedy when Morten’s first son, Mikkel’s (Emil Hass Christensen), wife, Inger (Birgitte Federspiel) wife faces a difficult pregnancy.
Stylistically, Ordet is like a series of fluid sketches. Dreyer is exact with his picture composition. Tension is generated with scenes that seems to have been carefully arranged. Characters appear as if they were looking beyond the room which makes them props to the story. They hardly look into the eyes of others save the lovers Mikkel and Inger whom the audience could feel their love, especially in the first scene, when Mikkel was awaken by Inger, and told that his second brother, Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye) has gone missing again.
The two-dimensional aspect is enhanced by Dreyer’s set which are flat white walls. Windows and furniture are sparse but symmetrically arranged so that everything seems balanced and in place, creating a Zen like atmosphere.
Take the scene where Peter delivers a sermon to his followers as an example. While his characters were singing hymns to praise the lord, they appear as if they were gazing at something far away. When Peter talks to Morten, the camera pans to both of them. It pans back again when he speaks to his fellow Christian followers.
When Inger tells Morten about Ander’s love for Anne in the barn, and asks the old man to give them a chance, the camera repeatedly pans left and right to create a similar symmetrical allusion; a style that will dominate the film.
The cinematography is at times, highly choreographed. The search for the missing Johannes jumps from one shot to another with characters screaming out his name; as if it was a musical set to a silent rhythm.
To simulate the farm environment, a cow is heard mooing while the night drags on as Inger delivers a still birth. This little effort at realism brings the audience back to the story but also contradicts the anxiety prevailing in the household; and the audience as well.
Thematically speaking, Ordet occupies the scholarly dissonance of religious differences. As much as we are tempted to view the last scene as a miracle; a blow to organized religion, that can be interpreted as the decline of the times, Ordet actually reinforces the strength of Christianity. The film is optimistic for it is the child, the future, who believes in the existence and miracles of God. Of course, childhood represents innocence and purity, of which only true faith can appear.
Ordet also encompasses other themes. As much as it is about faith, it is also about the clash of science and religion, which is an imminent threat to the old world order at the time Dreyer was making the movie. Along with the advent of science, Mikkel’s agnosticism and Ander’s belief to wed whoever he takes a fancy to, despite differences in faith, represents the onslaught of modernism, and rejection of the tradition. Because it happens within a small agricultural town, Dreyer was implying the death of the old way of life; that even the peasants are not spared. Ordet also plays on sanity; “what is madness and what is reason”; as best exemplified by the character, Johannes.
Characterwise, Johannes might stand out for his unusual demeanour and antics. As much as we ridicule his claims and even feel him a nuisance while the tragedy was unfolding, Dreyer seems like this man. At one scene as he was talking to his niece, the camera pans around him slowly, allowing us to see him in full detail. His presence in the house is tolerated though his claims could be a blaspheme of God.
Critics also mentioned Inger as the most “humane” character with her bubbly personality. Dreyer focuses on her face many times. When she was having her difficult birth, we do not see her face but instead hear her cries, which instead of pain, sounds suggestive. We feel her terror through the pain seen in Mikkel’s face and the instruments that the doctor uses. At one time, the doctor was seen putting a clamp like instrument under the blanket, suggesting more horror than we could have seen.
While Mikkel and Morten seems to co-exist peacefully, the film seems to suggests an underlined tension. Mikkel feels that his father practices favouritism and likes Johannes more because he was the son who made an effort for his faith and has gone mad as a result of studying too much theology. He could not agree with his father over Anders’ plight. He still respects his old man by avoiding direct confrontation such as allowing Inger to talk to his father instead of himself; allowing his father to enter the delivery room.
Ordet is an impressionable movie; not just because of its style, pace, or themes but how it joins seamlessly. Every scene is so exquisite and well-planned that something might just break anytime.
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Ordet opens amidst a peaceful expanse of hilly mountains. A cottage house sits comfortably among the plains. The camera pans lazily to reveal a barn. Such exquisite tranquility will not be repeated in Ordet again, of which mostly will be set within the interior confines of houses. When Carl Dreyer shoots location again, they are links – horses as a form of transportation to show characters travelling from on ehouse to another; and in certain cases, to generate audience anxiety.
Based on a play by Kaj Munk, a Danish pastor killed during the Nazis regime in 1944, Ordet is a moving piece, despite its slow moving scenes with characters seemingly devoid of emotions and seen in a distance.
Morten Borgen (Henrik Malberg) is the family patriarch of a farm who believes in the traditional Christianity – being joyful and celebrating life. His third son, Anders (Cay Kristiansen) falls in love with Peter (Ejner Federspiel), the tailor’s daughter, Anne (Gerda Nielsen), but was met with objection from the men of both families because they could not reconcile their religious differences. Peter’s family, the Skraedders, belong to a group of strict fundamentalists who believed otherwise from the Borgens, that to seek God is to be hard on oneself, ask for forgiveness and dare to look on the darker side of humanity.
On the surface, it appears that the drama represents the conflicts of faith on a secular level but it soon gives way to a greater foreboding tragedy when Morten’s first son, Mikkel’s (Emil Hass Christensen), wife, Inger (Birgitte Federspiel) wife faces a difficult pregnancy.
Stylistically, Ordet is like a series of fluid sketches. Dreyer is exact with his picture composition. Tension is generated with scenes that seems to have been carefully arranged. Characters appear as if they were looking beyond the room which makes them props to the story. They hardly look into the eyes of others save the lovers Mikkel and Inger whom the audience could feel their love, especially in the first scene, when Mikkel was awaken by Inger, and told that his second brother, Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye) has gone missing again.
The two-dimensional aspect is enhanced by Dreyer’s set which are flat white walls. Windows and furniture are sparse but symmetrically arranged so that everything seems balanced and in place, creating a Zen like atmosphere.
Take the scene where Peter delivers a sermon to his followers as an example. While his characters were singing hymns to praise the lord, they appear as if they were gazing at something far away. When Peter talks to Morten, the camera pans to both of them. It pans back again when he speaks to his fellow Christian followers.
When Inger tells Morten about Ander’s love for Anne in the barn, and asks the old man to give them a chance, the camera repeatedly pans left and right to create a similar symmetrical allusion; a style that will dominate the film.
The cinematography is at times, highly choreographed. The search for the missing Johannes jumps from one shot to another with characters screaming out his name; as if it was a musical set to a silent rhythm.
To simulate the farm environment, a cow is heard mooing while the night drags on as Inger delivers a still birth. This little effort at realism brings the audience back to the story but also contradicts the anxiety prevailing in the household; and the audience as well.
Thematically speaking, Ordet occupies the scholarly dissonance of religious differences. As much as we are tempted to view the last scene as a miracle; a blow to organized religion, that can be interpreted as the decline of the times, Ordet actually reinforces the strength of Christianity. The film is optimistic for it is the child, the future, who believes in the existence and miracles of God. Of course, childhood represents innocence and purity, of which only true faith can appear.
Ordet also encompasses other themes. As much as it is about faith, it is also about the clash of science and religion, which is an imminent threat to the old world order at the time Dreyer was making the movie. Along with the advent of science, Mikkel’s agnosticism and Ander’s belief to wed whoever he takes a fancy to, despite differences in faith, represents the onslaught of modernism, and rejection of the tradition. Because it happens within a small agricultural town, Dreyer was implying the death of the old way of life; that even the peasants are not spared. Ordet also plays on sanity; “what is madness and what is reason”; as best exemplified by the character, Johannes.
Characterwise, Johannes might stand out for his unusual demeanour and antics. As much as we ridicule his claims and even feel him a nuisance while the tragedy was unfolding, Dreyer seems like this man. At one scene as he was talking to his niece, the camera pans around him slowly, allowing us to see him in full detail. His presence in the house is tolerated though his claims could be a blaspheme of God.
Critics also mentioned Inger as the most “humane” character with her bubbly personality. Dreyer focuses on her face many times. When she was having her difficult birth, we do not see her face but instead hear her cries, which instead of pain, sounds suggestive. We feel her terror through the pain seen in Mikkel’s face and the instruments that the doctor uses. At one time, the doctor was seen putting a clamp like instrument under the blanket, suggesting more horror than we could have seen.
While Mikkel and Morten seems to co-exist peacefully, the film seems to suggests an underlined tension. Mikkel feels that his father practices favouritism and likes Johannes more because he was the son who made an effort for his faith and has gone mad as a result of studying too much theology. He could not agree with his father over Anders’ plight. He still respects his old man by avoiding direct confrontation such as allowing Inger to talk to his father instead of himself; allowing his father to enter the delivery room.
Ordet is an impressionable movie; not just because of its style, pace, or themes but how it joins seamlessly. Every scene is so exquisite and well-planned that something might just break anytime.
