Bergman ruined Ordet for me

I can tell that I began watching Ordet on the wrong foot, because twenty minutes into the film I couldn’t shake the biased expectation of an intense Bergman drama. Bergman would of had a field day with Ordet’s basic plot. All the ingredients were there, but when it didn’t happen I was very disappointed. And when the ending miracle happened all I could think of was that it was silly and how much more moving the ending miracle of Bergman’s The Virgin Spring was.

I may watch this film again sometime. There was far too many good qualities to never come back.

Did anyone else have a similar experience? And to you Ordet fans, what did I miss?

Not sure why this happened with you. I like Virigin Spring and Ordet both.

I’m not specifically contrasting Virgin Spring and Ordet. Nor am I saying you can’t both like Bergman films and Dreyer films. (I thought The Passion of Joan of Arc was beautiful, like a Renaissance painting in motion)

It’s just that by the time the film firmly sets itself into it’s small setting, I was reading for a play. Nothing wrong with that as long as it can deliver, but for me it didn’t. In fact, I felt that the play that Ordet was actually based on must have been pretty mediocre,

It may be worth coming back some time to enjoy the small visual pleasures, the creams and greys, the compositions; it may then creep up on you (as Gertrud did for me 2nd time)

The ending may seem silly but on the terms of the characters and their beliefs, and making a point on how we judge madness and appearances, less so. I think it raises interesting questions about miracles and waht Christians can imagine as possible- the Catholic church after all has given its seal to all sorts of miracles, but resurrection maybe not, since Christ. Dreyer came from a very different and spare Lutheran background of course.

Well, there’s no denying the beautiful simplicity of the film’s mise-en-scene.

I completely agree with the OP.
Ordet felt like undeveloped Bergman. I mean Subtlety is fine and all but personally I need that depth and extra edge to a film to push it over the top. Coming from the opposite angle Michael, I saw Ordet before being too familiar with Bergman’s work. And while I felt rather neutral to Ordet, I absolutely cherished Bergman’s faith work when I finally saw them.

Nice shot though Kenji, as I recall that was the best part of the film.

Again, I don’t really want to place Bergman against Dreyer, but rather let any Ordet fans understand my expectations coming into the film. For better or worse, Bergman conditioned my expectations of films about religion, along with Tarkovsky.

Ordet was like black and white stained glass.
Bergman’s religious films were like theater

Here’s a pic from the 1932 play that moved Dreyer:

1) Kenji, you are great at finding pictures.

2) One of the reasons I’ll give a film 3 stars is because it didn’t achieve it’s potential (granted, that’s completely biased). There were depths to this film that could have been explored but weren’t.

Some will say the film is subtle, I say it’s simple. There is a difference. A summer breeze is subtle but not simple. The film felt like an outline for a film to be.

I wonder what people not having seen Ordet thought of the ending of Silent Light

I’ve seen a lot of Bergman and Ordet is cued-up for this evening. I shall reply once I have experienced it.

Robert Keegan Walker, this definitely not a lap top film.

Oh, of course not. I don’t watch such films on a laptop – blasphemy! I can hook it up to a big screen for viewing. The medium is, after all, the message. Thanks though ;)

I totally expected the miracle at the end. The film was begging you to expect it.

I did, however, find it a little bit Sunday School-ish.

I had the same experience as Jirin with the ending. Right after the Peter tells Morten that Inger is having complication, I predicted the ending and began wishing against it.

Why are you talking about the ending? I JUST SAID I was watching it!

*wags finger at screen!

Trust Jirin and me, there’s no surprise.

Plus, the original post mentions a miracle ending anyway

I’m only joshing ;)

needs more jacques brel philtrum sweat.