Ordet - Criterion Collection

Ordet, which means 'The Word' in English, is not only one of the greatest films ever made, but one of the most spiritual films I have ever witnessed. The main themes throughout Ordet explore faith, or the lack of, and that the idea that miracles are something that can no longer occur in modern times. The story of Ordet is based on a play by Kaj Munk (a Danish pastor martyred by the Nazis in 1944), which involves a family who have conflicting issues in their belief systems, and when a tragedy strikes their home they have to learn to cope with it in their own different ways. Sadly, this was the only film that was a commercial success for Dreyer, which is unfortunate since he made so many beloved films before and after this one.

Like most of Dreyer's films Ordet is a film that is shot with low ceilings and dim lighting all the while establishing characters within the fabric of its storyline. When each character speaks, everyone listens. The dialog takes its time, the pacing is very slow and the rhythmic is measured by its own chamber space and real-time, all the while you listen to the diegetic sounds within the environment, like the ticking of the clock, the scratching of a pen writing, or the treacherous winds outside the home. By pacing the film slowly, each pause in the dialog is filled with a movement or a character reacting and listening; something you almost never see in films. A film like this might take some getting used to, but once the dramatic events slowly start to unfold, Dreyer sucks you into its hypnotic world.