DVD Mini Review - Ordet

After seeing Silent Light I wanted to see Carl Theodor Dreyer's film Ordet. The former has been compared with the latter and I was curious.

Ordet takes place in 1925. It has an old fashioned feel to it. Morten Borgen (Henrik Malberg) has a farm and runs it with his three sons. However, his son Johannes (Preben Lardorff Rye), has gone mad from too much religious study. Then there is his eldest son Mikkel (Emil Haas Christensen) who is happily married, a father and a father to be. But unlike his father, who is a man of faith, Mikkel is a non-believer. And last we have young Anders (Cay Kristiansen) who is in love with a woman that he might not be able to marry. Why is that? Well, her family practices a different kind of Christianity than his family.

This is a very well directed film. The cinematography is beautiful. And all of the acting is fine. And the plot - it is all about faith - having it and not having it. And it certainly shows what too much religion can do. I guess you can say that in the end you either believe it or you don't. But it doesn't matter if you are devout or an atheist. If you love good cinema you should see this film.