Ordet (1955)

The British Film Institute's favorite films include quite a few artsy numbers that do next to nothing for me. Taking a suggestion from the list, especially one that I'd barely heard of elsewhere, was pretty chancy on my part. I did enjoy The Passion of Joan of Arc and found Vampyr at least pretty interesting, so another Carl Theodor Dreyer hit would seem safe -- only I hadn't looked up the detail before. From the look of the title, I had assumed French, not Danish.

It means "The Word." If you guessed a religious connotation, congrats. The story concerns a Lutheran farm owner with three sons: Anders, who wants to marry a woman from a slightly (but too significantly for their fathers) different religious background; Mikkel, a bitter agnostic who nevertheless loves his wife Inger; and Johannes, who, having studied Kierkegaard, proclaims himself the second coming of Christ. When Inger has complications in giving birth, the philosophical focus rests almost entirely on whether faith can move mountains long after biblical times.

Since most of the action consists of talking and brooding (and Johannes's slow pronouncements usually sound quite sad), it's the closest thing to a Bergmanian Dreyer piece I've seen yet. Fortunately, for all its bleakness and tragedy, it has a primarily happy ending, in which faith does indeed appear to move mountains. This may strike you as Christian preaching, but as an agnostic myself, I prefer it to the implied opposite message. Even atheists tend to respect the artistry.

In truth, I have a little trouble with that part. I'm not sure how I would write a thesis on a simple tale where almost every theme seems to be at the surface. The main question is what to make of Johannes: Surely he can't be Jesus, yet he's good at predicting things, readily says what Jesus might say, and prays right before the apparent miracle that inspires the others. If anyone believes in him (or at least his power) the whole way thru, it's the cute young preexisting daughter of Mikkel and Inger.

My personal appreciation stems more from the emotions that get stirred up. If Ordet didn't make me think much, at least it made me feel.