This February I have joined a great course on Scandinavian cinema and television and Coursera. That's why I'm sharing this short essay on Carl Th Dreyer, one of the most outstanding Danish film directors. For those of you who are not quite familiar with Scandinavian cinema I may as well add that they are known primarily for auteur films, independent, deep and emotional. The movie I'm writing about - The Word (1955) - was awarded with a Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival. The extract analyzed in my essay is posted below.
The Word's style bears distinguishing features of his earlier works, namely, slow camera movements, long takes and depressive atmosphere. What helps The Word engage the audience, however, is compilation of several things: dealing with very common issues such as an anticipation and initial fear of death and tackling very ambiguous topics, in this case, religion. Having taken to consideration general slowness and lack of dynamic action we may see how this particular film rhythm provokes the viewer to stop, think and therefore sympathize. The lasting aftertaste is created by a one of the most efficient marketing technology – as we would say had the director been our contemporary – give them problem and then hope for solution. The characters have to deal with the worst – but later the miracle occurs. Moreover, there is nothing irrelevant on screen, every shot is constructed precisely to provide certain information, e.g. when Johannes talks to the child there are pale walls and the clock which I believe is aimed to emphasize the fluidity of life. The way people act and, of course, they must have been instructed to do so by Carl Th Dreyer himself is quite remarkable as they add up to deliberate slowness with things like Inger's daughter smile emerging on her face in a very slow-motion replay style. The final scene is extremely tense in the beginning, yet it ends happily with the family being reunited and characters being given answers on whether or not they should have faith, much like the audience actually. “The end is to enrich one’s fellow human beings by engrossing them in an emotional experience they would not otherwise encounter.”, said Carl Th Dreyer about The Word and it is probably the best explanation of its success.
The Word's style bears distinguishing features of his earlier works, namely, slow camera movements, long takes and depressive atmosphere. What helps The Word engage the audience, however, is compilation of several things: dealing with very common issues such as an anticipation and initial fear of death and tackling very ambiguous topics, in this case, religion. Having taken to consideration general slowness and lack of dynamic action we may see how this particular film rhythm provokes the viewer to stop, think and therefore sympathize. The lasting aftertaste is created by a one of the most efficient marketing technology – as we would say had the director been our contemporary – give them problem and then hope for solution. The characters have to deal with the worst – but later the miracle occurs. Moreover, there is nothing irrelevant on screen, every shot is constructed precisely to provide certain information, e.g. when Johannes talks to the child there are pale walls and the clock which I believe is aimed to emphasize the fluidity of life. The way people act and, of course, they must have been instructed to do so by Carl Th Dreyer himself is quite remarkable as they add up to deliberate slowness with things like Inger's daughter smile emerging on her face in a very slow-motion replay style. The final scene is extremely tense in the beginning, yet it ends happily with the family being reunited and characters being given answers on whether or not they should have faith, much like the audience actually. “The end is to enrich one’s fellow human beings by engrossing them in an emotional experience they would not otherwise encounter.”, said Carl Th Dreyer about The Word and it is probably the best explanation of its success.
