Rating: 4.5/5
Criterion Challenge 2024 | 3/52 | A film with a rating of 4.3 or higher
Denmark, 1925
Borgensgard, home to the Borgen family — the widower, Morten, and his three sons.
Anders wakes up to find Johannes wandering the dunes at night. He informs his father, and the two go to look for him.
Mikkel’s wife, Inger, sees Anders going after Johannes and informs Mikkel. Mikkel joins Anders and Morten.
At the top of a dune, Johannes proclaims himself as Jesus Christ, condemning those who don’t believe. His voice resonates and intermingles with the wind.
Inger pities Anders, while Mikkel believes Anders is likely happy in his delusional state.
— Miracles don't happen anymore. — Nothing is impossible if one prays to Him for it. — I have prayed and prayed and prayed — Then you must go on praying, for Jesus has promised what we pray to Him for, He will give us.
Anders has fallen in love with Anne, whose father Peter has different religious ideas than Morten. Mikkel and Inger are supportive, but they warn Anders that Morten will probably not approve.
Little granddad, you understand everything in the world except love.
Peter warns Anne regarding Anders — that she should not let sin control her. Peter, a Christian, thinks Anne may help the Borgens find his god. Anders tries to convince him otherwise, but Peter sees his Christianity as distinct.
Peter’s family follows the Inner Mission, a conservative and fundamentalist denomination derived from Lutheranism. By their name, their mission is to convert other Christians to their line of thinking, unlike other denominations that focus their evangelism on non-believers.
Mikkel resents Morten’s devoutness. It was a barrier between them growing up. As Mikkel has grown older, his faith has dwindled, though he hides it from Inger.
Inger, the most devout, believes prayers set unseen forces in motion. Her eyes are often on the sky. When her pregnancy makes her dangerously sick, the experience tests everyone’s faith.
The grassy dunes and the sky create beautiful shapes and compositions. The camera moves along horizontal tracking, letting the dunes rise and fall like sound waves.
Dreyer believed that the long take was essential to sound film. Dreyer believed cuts reflected the juxtaposition necessary for silent film to render meaning. With the addition of sound, the camera should linger and follow to allow scenes to develop more organically.
This film marks a trajectory from Days of Wrath to Gertrud, where Dreyer enforces a more subdued emotional state for the characters. This film, however, does not commit to the deadened tone of Gertrud.
Part of what makes Dreyer’s films feel painterly is his obsession with lighting. He set up around 20 lights per scene and wouldn’t adjust the camera according to a light meter but to his feelings.
The film suggests that studying one’s faith leads to either abandoning it or distorting it to match personal beliefs. Morten, a devout Christian, encouraged Johannes in his studies, believing it would reignite not just his faith but of his sons as well. Morten thought Johannes would be a prophet.
Central to the movie is the idea that miracles do not happen anymore. Even those with faith deny their presence in their life. Inger remains the only one who believes, pointing out the tiny miracles of every day.
— Now you are blaspheming God. — No, all of you blaspheme God with your lukewarm faith.
While this doesn’t hit me like Days of Wrath, this is still a beautifully realized movie and certainly one of Dreyer’s best.