Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageGertrud (1964)
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Dreyer's last film was adapted from a 1919 play by Hjalmar Söderberg, but it remains one of the most purely cinematic discourses of the 1960s. Its forty-ish protagonist rejects the compromise of her marriage, but suffers disappointment in her younger lover and retreats into a serene isolation. Dreyer directs his actors into performances that are understated to the point of stillness, and composes shots with a daring economy of decor and design; he also slows the overall pace to a contemplative minimum. At the same time, though, he explodes the film's syntax (consecutive shots that don't quite match; camera movements that are never quite resolved), so that the placid surface is undermined by a quarry of tiny fissures. Similarly, the spiritual serenity of the subject is built upon an aching sense of emotional pain - and the fact that it's only half-articulated makes it all the more shattering.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Cast: Nina Pens Rode, Bendt Rothe, Ebbe Rode, Baard Owe, Axel Strobye, Anna Malberg full cast
Duration: 116 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now