Cheap Ordet (Video) (Preben Lerdorff Rye, Emil Hass Christensen, Henrik Malberg) (Carl Theodor Dreyer) Price

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Carl Theodor Dreyer's classic cinematic examination of faith
"Ordet" is one of the finest examinations of the nature of faith in cinema history. Johannes Borgen (Preben Lerdorff Rye) wanders an open field in the Danish countryside, believing himself to be Christ and preaching to the wind. A former theology student, Johannes had a mental breakdown as he grappled with the mysteries of faith. Meanwhile, his younger brother Anders (Cay Kristiansen) has fallen in love with Anne (Gerda Nielsen), the daughter of fundamentalist tailor (Ejnar Federspiel), a relationship of which their father Morten (Henrik Malberg) very much disapproves. Morten is a most pious man, who believes people should enjoy a personal, unstructured relationship with God. He had encouraged Johannes to study religion believing his son was ideally suited for helping restore the faith of the villagers in God. But now he is racked with guilt over his son's madness and religious divisions continue to destroy his family.

Director Carl Theodor Drever represents discrete theological positions in the four sons: Johannes attacks the skepticism of the modern world; Peter cannot tolerate putting organized religion above common decency; Anders refuses to allow theology to stand in the way of love; and Mikkel's agnosticism stops him from seeking God's help. The faith of Morten proves to be equally imperfect as he turns upon Johannes, dismissing his visions as mere delusions. In the end, Morten is a man who refuses to believe his prayers have been answered. Drever's style as a director is as austere as Ingmar Bergman's, but I think he succeeds in exploring the complexities of religion more in "Ordet" than Bergman does in all of his films combined (granted, Bergman ultimately focuses on issues other than religion).

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One of the greatest spiritual cinematic masterpieces.
This film deserves 10 stars. Both in direction & the cinematography we are dealing with one of the greatest masters in the history of cinema, Carl Theodor Dreyer, a cinematic giant. Every film by Dreyer is a masterwork, but my favorite of all his films is ORDET (meaning The Word in Danish). This film might also have been titled THE MIRACLE. The acting is perfect, understated, naturalistic, without any thespian hystrionics or typical soupy music to pump up the scenes. Religious delusion can be viewed by some as great faith, and great faith can be viewed by others as religious delusion, & this film asks you which of these two views is what is happening. What is a miracle? Is it something special that only Christ or God or a Buddha can effect, or is it something which can happen at any time going against the laws of nature? This film opens such questions. The black and white imagery is not a lessening of the effect, but a heightening of the effect, for if this film had been in colour it would have lost something essential from its strong mysterious message. This film deals with bigotry and religious prejudice, as well as forgiveness and trust, but it never preaches, instead it opens the heart of the view to the profound mystery of Life & Death. It has the perfect inexorability of fate like a play by Euripides or Sophocles. On DVD or on tape, this is a film which anyone who loves the art of film must have. This is one of those films you cannot do without in your personal film library. I also recommend DAY OF WRATH and JOAN OF ARC by Carl Dreyer.

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Resurrecting Faith
"It was Soren Kierkegaard." Mikkel Borgen

It's refreshing to view a film that not only has religous faith as its subject, but also has the insight to grasp the crux of belief and the fervour it generates. 'Ordet' displays faith and all its flaws, but in the end, you may find your faith revived, or you may just find faith. 'Ordet' is that powerful.

The plot rehashes the 'Romeo and Juliet' archetype, with two lovers bordering fundumental fences. Their fathers don't see eye to eye on religious views. There are a few other major characters, most notable being the reincarnation of Jesus.

While all the characters are quite round and easy to sympathize with, their rudimentary fuction is to allow Dreyer to ponder faith and its paradoxes. The film is basically all talk with very little action, which may be one of Dreyer's points. The characters argue about what constitutes faith, but you get the feeling that they find opposing arguments hollow. Only in the film's final scenes does any real "action" occur, when everyone stops arguing and turns the other cheek.

Perhaps only Dreyer's own 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' is a stronger meditation on the subject of faith. Whatever your denomination, 'Ordet' probably covers you. The film's strength lies in its presentation of religous ideals, and the conflicts which can arise from those ideals. Religious faith, like any other ideal, has the tendency to make people stubborn, in that only one ideal can exist. At the end of the film, Dreyer also seems to believe that only one ideal exists, one that requires a tremendous leap of faith.