Ordet

English title: Word (The)
Also known as: Parole (la)
Genre: religious drama (in black and white)
With: Henrik Malberg (Morten Borgen), Emil Hass Christensen (Mikkel, Morten’s eldest son), Birgitte Federspiel (Inger), Preben Lerdorff Rye (Johannes, Morten’s second son), Cay Kristiansen (Anders, Morten’s youngest son), Gerda Nielsen (Anne Petersen), Ejner Federspiel (Peter Petersen), Sylvia Eckhausen (Kirstin Petersen), Ove Rud (Pastor), Henry Skjær (the Doctor)
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Screenplay: Kaj Munk (based on his play), with help from Carl Theodor Dreyer
Release: 1955
Studio: Palladium Film
Rating: -
MBiS score: 9.2/10



The Lord Giveth, and the Lord Taketh Away 



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Story-line: we find ourselves in 1925, on Morten Borgen’s farm in the Danish countryside. Morten, the widowed and deeply religious patriarch, is disappointed with the way his family has turned out. His eldest son, though happily married, has lost all faith in God. His second, whom he sent to study religion, has come home suffering from a messiah complex. Fortunately, there’s Anders, the youngest… except that Anders is secretly in love with the daughter of Morten's long-standing moral enemy, Petersen the tailor.   

Pluses: eminently serious and natural performances by a talented cast, dignified direction, a heartbreaking screenplay that patiently fleshes out its characters with its effective dialogues, modest but tasteful production values and a mighty musical theme.

Minuses: although slow and static (being based on a stage play), not very aesthetic (having been produced with little means) and austere (due to its subject matter), ORDET still manages to maintain interest right up to its stunningly powerful climax.

Comments: C.T. Dreyer has made few films but has attained legendary status for the high quality of his oeuvre. This Venice Film Festival winner, which matches Bergman’s best for human value, remains one of the richest and most uplifting movie experiences of all time. Once you’ve seen ORDET and other films of its calibre, you understand why many call cinema the “seventh art”.  



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Hours (The)

Genre: psychological drama
With: Julianne Moore (Laura Brown), Meryl Streep (Clarissa Vaughan), Nicole Kidman (Virginia Woolf), Stephen Dillane (Leonard Woolf), John C. Reilly (Dan Brown), Ed Harris (Richard), Miranda Richardson (Vanessa Bell), Toni Collette (Kitty)
Director: Stephen Daldry
Screenplay: David Hare (based on a novel by Michael Cunningham)
Release: 2002
Studio: Paramount Pictures, Miramax, Scott Rudin Productions
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 8.1/10


‟It's on this day. This day of all days. Her fate becomes clear to her.”

   

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Story-line: THE HOURS combines three stories – from 1923, 1951 and 2001 respectively – whose common thread is Mrs. Dalloway, a novel by Virginia Woolf. It follows (1) Virginia herself, as she was working on her novel; (2) Laura, a California housewife who is throwing a birthday party for her husband Dan; and (3) Clarissa, who will host a reception honouring her friend Richard, recipient of a literary prize.

Pluses: a robust cast led by marquee actors, competent direction, an astute and emotionally charged screenplay, a strong aesthetic focus, fine production values.

Minuses: as this film deals mostly with sentiments, personal conflicts and difficult life issues (sickness, depression and the like), some viewers may find it slow and rather sad.

Comments: as a matter of context, the main characters in Mrs. Dalloway are an upper-class Londoner reflecting on the choices she has made in life and a young man who has returned from the war with a trauma. THE HOURS builds upon this context to show how a book written well before our time can still move us and how human beings react similarly whatever the era they live in. As a study of literary issues and everyday life, Stephen Daldry’s critically-acclaimed film is a fine achievement – especially in its thought-provoking ending that gives new meaning to the overall narrative – but I wouldn’t urge you to see it if you’re feeling blue or looking for light entertainment.   



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