Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer • 1955 • Denmark
Starring Henrik Malberg, Emil Hass Christensen, Cay Kristiansen
A farmer’s family is torn apart by faith, sanctity, and love—one child believes he’s Jesus Christ, a second proclaims himself agnostic, and the third falls in love with a fundamentalist’s daughter. Putting the lie to the term “organized religion,” ORDET (THE WORD) is a challenge to simple facts and dogmatic orthodoxy. Layering multiple stories of faith and rebellion, Dreyer’s adaptation of Kaj Munk’s play quietly builds towards a shattering, miraculous climax.
Up Next in Paul Schrader’s Adventures in Moviegoing
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Paul Schrader on AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON
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An Autumn Afternoon
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu • 1962 • Japan
Starring Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Keiji SadaThe last film by Yasujiro Ozu was also his final masterpiece, a gently heartbreaking story about a man’s dignifed resignation to life’s shifting currents and society’s modernization. Though the widower Shuhei...
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Paul Schrader on RED DESERT
