Gustaf Molander – Ordet AKA The Word (1943)

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Farmer Knut Borg (Victor Sjöström) and his family live an ascetic, Chartuan Christian life. Knut is the obvious head of the family but has a hard time getting the three sons to go the right way. Knut Jr. saddened by the strict religiosity and leaves the farm, Anders falls in love with a girl from a free church family and when Anders, who is studying to be a priest, loses his wife, life collapses. The wife was the unifying link in the family. In his despair, Anders loses his mind and thinks he is the savior.

During the 1930s, most frivolities were done in Swedish film. Subjects such as faith were almost taboo. (Gustaf Molander was considered to be the director who also contributed quality to the offer.) During the standby years, however, the content of the films changed. Due to the changed world situation, the audience had a need for seriousness, reflection and comfort. Gustaf Molander, like several other directors, left the merriment and made a series of more serious films in the 1940s, including The Word , a drama about faith and doubt, life and death.

The film was based on a play by the Danish pastor and playwright Kaj Munk and premiered in Copenhagen in 1932. Just a week after the film’s premiere, Munk was murdered by the Nazis, which gave the film an unexpected relevance and role as a political resistance drama. It became an audience success both in Sweden and abroad.

And the critics praised the film. In the Social Democrat, Carlo Keil-Möller wrote: “In this film, nothing is left to chance. Everything is purposefully designed: the depiction of the landscape, the work in the fields and fields, the Halland peasants, tough and fanatical, the individual role performances. Despite the sensational subject, nothing was sacrificed to the sensation for its own sake. ” Rune Lindström was praised for the script, as was Gösta Roosling for the captivating photo, and Victor Sjöström’s role performance impressed. Sjöström was at the time artistic director at SF and he came to collaborate with Molander both behind and in front of the camera in several of Molander’s 40s films.

The one who still received the most praise for the Word was Molander. He was mentioned as one of Europe’s best film directors and in Aftonbladet Filmson wrote: “The word is generally a film with a strong sense of style. It is unnecessary to say that this film is connected to the Swedish film’s heyday. Gustaf Molander should be praised that he stands on with their own legs and with the same sure calm, people portray as nature in their own way, albeit with reminiscences from the time of silent film but also with their own melody, not only in the excellent dialogue, which has its power from Kaj Munk, in music, as Sven Sköld made powerfully simple, in the photo of Roosling, which is soft and painterly expressive – but also in the interplay of all this. Full casting is the final impression of the film. “

The word was also filmed in Denmark, 1955, this time under the direction of Danish Carl Th. Dreyer.

Text: Lova Hagerfors (2015)

Ordet.1943.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-KG.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 43 min
Size: 	4.47 GiB
Video
Codec: 	h264
Resolution: 	1920x1080 
Aspect ratio:  	16:9
Frame rate: 	25.000 fps
Bit rate: 	6 000 kb/s
BPP: 	0.116
Audio
#1:  	Swedish 2.0ch AAC @ 192 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/CD032F20A23DBBD/Ordet.1943.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-KG.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/EADFECC55169209/Ordet.1943.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-KG.srt

Language(s):Swedish
Subtitles:English