Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Parson's Widow is one of the master filmmakers early silent films. The film tells the story of Sofren, who has just finished his religous studies. He and his fiance, Mari, travel to a small Norwegian village where the previous parson has died, hoping that Sofren can be appointed the new parson. The village has two other candidates for the post, but Sofren impresses the villagers with his unique sermon, doing something different, as opposed to the other two candidates who present the same stale method -putting the fear of god into the villagers. Upon his appointment, Sofren discovers an old village tradition - that the widow of the late parson, Dame Margarete, has the right to marry the new parson. Dame Margarete is a very old woman, but Sofren has no choice, hoping that she dies soon so he can get married to his Mari. Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Parson's Widow is a simple yet effective story that is a touching and humorous fable of misunderstanding. Even for one of his first films, Dreyer's pioneer style filmmaking is prevalent, with some of the earliest use of split-screen I've seen and a tone that dances between drama and comedy seemlessly. What stood out to me about The Parson's Widow is the reserved performances, which for the time was very unique. There is no overacting in this film, with Hildur Carlberg's performance of The Parson's Widow being the strongest performance in the film. She portrays a frigid character whose layers are slowly-peeled away, with the narrative revealing a much sadder, haunted woman that is far more like Sofren and Marie than they ever imagined. Touching, sweet, and profound, The Parson's Widow is an early effort from Drey that shows flashes of the great filmmaker he would become.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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