Ordet (1955)

• Year: 1955
• Released: 10 Jan 1955
• Country: Denmark
• Adwords: 7 wins & 2 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048452/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordet
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Danish
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Drama
• Runtime: 126 min
• Writer: Kaj Munk, Carl Theodor Dreyer
• Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
• Cast: Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, Preben Lerdorff Rye
• Keywords: religion, faith, pregnant wife, religious fundamentalism,

	8.3/10
	100% – Critics
	91% – Audience

Ordet Storyline

It’s August, 1925 in rural Jutland, Denmark. Three generations of Borgens live on the family farm. Morten Borgen, the long widowed family patriarch, is a devout Lutheran. Most closely aligned to him religiously within the household is his only daughter-in-law, Inger Borgen, married to Morten’s oldest of three adult sons, Mikkel Borgen, an agnostic, which Morten sees as a failure in his own parenting. Inger is currently pregnant with what will be her and Mikkel’s third child, the first two being daughters, Maren and Lilleinger. Johannes Borgen, Morten’s middle son, was his hope of that devout Lutheran among his children, as Johannes was the one who decided to study theology. But what happened with Johannes is that his intense study turned inward, resulting in him going mad, he believing that he is the current Jesus Christ. And Morten believes his youngest son, Anders Borgen, although a good man, is emotionally weak. In town, the Petersens, Peter Petersen the tailor and his wife Kirstin Petersen, belong to a fundamentalist sect of the church. Anders and the Petersens’ daughter Anne Petersen have fallen in love and want to get married. Despite both being good, capable people, they know they will have problems convincing their parents of the union because of the differences in their religions. Indeed, Morten sees people like the Petersens as being holier than thou, while the Petersens see Morten as being not up to their faith. What happens with Inger and her pregnancy may give them all a different perspective of faith.

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Ordet Movie Reviews

everything you know is wrong

“Ordet” (which apparently means “word”) is the first Carl Dreyer movie that I’ve ever seen. It’s the sort of movie that throws a lot at you and you have to see whether or not you can digest it. It portrays a family in 1925 Denmark seeing everything around them getting thrown into question. Son Johannes believes himself to be Jesus, and the other family members aren’t much better (of course, screwy families have become commonplace in movies; see “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Igby Goes Down”).

The main point of the events portrayed here are that the family has to reconsider everything that they’ve ever believed. I just saw “The Illusionist”, which also deals with blurring the lines between what we know and believe. Maybe both movies are saying that not only can we never fully know what’s real and what isn’t: maybe they both say that everything that anyone of any credo knows is totally incorrect. There is no truth left in the world (this could lead into Stephen Colbert’s description of “truthiness”, meaning what you want or immediately assume to be the truth).

So, it’s worth seeing, but just know that it’s a little bit overwhelming. And I apologize if my review doesn’t tell you as much as it should; I’ve just described what I interpreted.

Slow but well made…

Up until late in the film, I was rather bored by this film. However, I am glad I stuck with it, as I really enjoyed the way the film concluded.

The film is set on a farm in Denmark and involves the Borgen family. They are in some ways a traditional family with traditional Danish religious values. The biggest non-traditional aspect of the family is John–the seemingly crazy member of the family. He happens to think he’s Jesus!! Yet, despite this, his family loves him and they have no intention of placing him in an institution–and he seems harmless.

Several plot twists arise in the film. The first is a conflict between the more orthodox Borgens and the Peterson family, who are closer to charismatics in their Christian beliefs. When one of the Borgen boys wants to marry a Peterson girl, their families come into conflict–especially as the Peterson parents consider the Borgens to be damned for not sharing their exact beliefs. The other major twist is death and what happens next. I’d like to say more but can’t as it would spoil the film. However, I was impressed how in an increasingly cynical world when it comes to religion that director Dreyer makes a film that is unashamedly religious and creates A LOT to talk about once the film has completed.

Overall, a very slow film but one that’s worth watching. The acting is very good and the plot is just bizarre and creative–and, as I said, it makes you think. Odd but satisfying on so many levels.

I Wanted It to End the Way It Did, Yet

As I plodded through this film, seeing darkness and sadness all the way along, I wanted a bit of relief. It never came during the first 99 percent. So when the resurrection occurs, it lifted a weight from me. Then I started thinking how manipulated I had been. First, let me say, I never lost interest in the film, and Dreyer is a master of gloom. I was intrigued by the religious factions at work here and the doubts expressed by the men, who, honestly were submerged in their own emotions. John thinks he is Christ, so he is hard to evaluate fairly. The others make speeches about God and their connection to God. The only thing I can determine through most of this is that if that’s what they believe, it has turned them into dour, depressed, lifeless characters. At best, they use their religion as a club on each other. Others have articulated these things better than I, so I will end. I was grateful for the experience.