Ordet (The Word)

Also known as ‘The Word’, ‘Ordet’ was the only film that legendary Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer made in the 1950s. The author of the play on which the film was based (and which was previously filmed in 1943) was Kaj Munk, a Danish pastor murdered by the Nazis for daring to announce his fidelity to Christ over Hitler. Dreyer's protagonist is considered a lunatic by his "weekend Christian" neighbors because of his religious zealotry. After spending too much time poring over the philosophical works of Soren Kierkegaard, he does indeed go insane, but not before he and his three sons undergo profound spiritual experiences. Unfolding in the slow but intensely involving style of Dreyer's best works, ‘Ordet’ comes to a shattering conclusion which remains with the viewer long after the house lights come up. (Hal Erickson)