Day Of Wrath

Day of Wrath, a poweful condemnation of the Christian fixation with sin and guilt, whose title is taken from the Latin hymn, Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), is an adaptation of 'Anne Pedersdotter' by Norwegian playwright, Hans Wiers-Jenssen. Released during the Nazi occupation of Denmark (1940-1945), which no doubt gave the film which deals with a brutal witch hunt extra resonance in its day it is yet another extraordinary film from the Danish master film-maker Carl Theodor Dreyer.

Set in the early 17th century it deals with, essentially, the conflict between Life and Death/Eros and Thanatos. The latter is represented by the repressive, fear-laden puritanical established order upheld by a puritanical village pastor, Absolon (Thorkild Roose), and his sternly controlling mother, the former by his love-starved young second wife, Anne (Lisbeth Movin), trapped in a barren marriage who falls for the pastor's son from his first marriage, Martin (Preben Lerdorff Rye), when he returns to the family home.

As ever, Dreyer’s fastidious mise-en-scène, richly symbolic use of light and dark and fluid camera results in a beautifully spare, intense rendition of the story with a typically empathetic portrayal of its central female character.

 

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