(Carl Theodor Dreyer, Denmark 1955, 126 min., DCP, Danish with English subtitles)
Director Dreyer explores multiple issues of faith through a family on the Danish highlands in 1925. Morten (Henrik Malberg) has a crisis of faith following the death of his wife; Mikkel (Emil Hass Christensen) has his agnosticism challenged when his wife becomes ill; Johannes (Preben Lerdorff Rye) believes he is the second coming of Jesus after studying Kierkegaard; and Anders (Cay Kristiansen) falls in love with the tailor’s daughter, only to have both fathers oppose the match due to their differing views on Christianity. Dreyer’s deliberate camera (there are only 114 shots in the film, and only three are close-ups) focuses on domestic rhythms and the space of the home, as the family, individually and as a whole, deal with their changing perceptions of faith and religion. #48 on Sight & Sound’s most recent list.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | The Dream & the Lie (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) Designed as a three-channel installation, this cinematic version of Elena Dorfman’s debut film takes a deep dive into the hidden history of Albanian film. The Albanians established their Kinostudio with the help of the Russians, and went on to produce more than three hundred feature films and thousands of newsreels and documentaries — all of which were state sponsored and censored.
Film Screenings | L’Avventura (35mm)
A Summer Trip Through Europe(an Cinema) Largely considered Antonioni’s breakthrough masterpiece, L’Avventura marked the director’s transition into his trademark deliberate pacing and careful composition. Based on a story written by Antonioni, the film chronicles the search for a woman whose disappearance leads to an illicit romance between her lover and her best friend.
Film Screenings | Celine and Julie Go Boating (DCP)
A Summer Trip through Europe(an Cinema) “Usually, it began like this…” Jacques Rivette’s recursive, surreal, haunted house film plays with narrative in ways never before seen on-screen, and in the process influenced dozens of filmmakers, from David Lynch to Richard Linklater and Olivier Assayas.