1964 / 116m - Denmark
Drama
1.0*/5.0*
Gertrud poster

Watches

August 12, 2020

1.0*/5.0*

My fourth Dreyer, and they seem to be getting progressively worse. While Jeanne D'Arc and Vampyr had some appeal, Ordet and this Getrud turned out to be extremely dry, formal dramas that seemed to a chase purely intellectual explorations of their themes. This is not something I'm particularly interested in.

Getrud is looking for the right man, but her ideal of love doesn't seem to be very realistic. In relationships with working, providing men she craves passion, when she seeks out more creative types they can't seem to offer her the stability she needs. And so she remains alone, not wanting to compromise on her ideal.

Conversations are very formal, with characters hardly looking at each other and citing precise dialogues detailing their feelings. It's dry as a bone and it's all there is, two hours long. The interior sets are pretty dull too, but at least the crisp black and white cinematography makes for some interesting shots. Hardly enough to save this film though.