Blade af Satans Bog, 1921
[Leaves from Satan's Book]
The prologue to Leaves
from Satan's Book recounts the familiar tale of Satan's banishment
from Heaven. In order to return, Satan is doomed to perform acts of
temptation upon humanity with the stipulation that for every soul who
yields, 100 years will be added to his time on earth. However, for every
soul who resists, 1000 years will be commuted from his judgment. It is
through this unorthodox perspective that the film follows the destructive
path of the fallen angel, appearing through the ages as an opportunistic
instigator in times of war and conflict. The first chapter takes place
in Jerusalem in the year 30 A.D. as Satan (Helge Nissen), in the guise
of a Pharisee, attends a gathering with other religious elders at the
home of Caiaphas in order to discuss the unconventional ministry and
reported miracles of Jesus of Nazareth (Halvard Hoff), and subsequently
finds a potential conduit in the faltering faith of the apostle, Judas
(Jacob Texiere). The second chapter occurs in 16th century Seville as
a learned monk named Don Fernandez (Johannes Meyer), harboring a
profound desire for his beautiful student Isabella (Ebon Strandin),
resignedly abandons their private instruction to join the Spanish Inquisition,
only to find himself overseeing the fates of Isabella and her father,
Don Gomez (Hallander Helleman) after they are charged with heresy. The
setting of the third chapter is 1793 Paris, as a young man named Joseph
(Elith Pio) - the humble and dutiful servant of the benevolent Chambord
family - finds immediate social prominence during the turbulent early
years of the nascent French Republic when he is inducted into the inner
circle of the Jacobins, and soon begins to lose sight of his solemn
promise to the late Count de Chambord (Viggo Wiehe). In the fourth (and
final) chapter, Satan assumes the form of a Russian monk in the rural,
occupied Finnish town of Hirola in 1918, and presents an impossible choice
to a devoted wife named Siri (Clara Pontoppidan) when an unwanted suitor,
Rautamiemi (Carl Hildebrandt), denounces her husband Paavo (Carlo Wieth)
before the Russian authorities.
Inspired by the epic scope and thematic structure
of D.W. Griffith's Intolerance,
Leaves from Satan's Book is an
ambitious, visually innovative, and innately idiosyncratic
presentation of world history through the essential perspective
of human experience in reaction to - and as a result of - divine
consequence. Carl Theodor Dreyer incorporates a series of
episodically distinctive experimental techniques and stylistic
devices that would resurface in his subsequent films: the
singular focus close-ups and application of austere kammerspielfilm
elements in the Betrayal of Jesus and French Revolution episodes to
create a sense of concentrated expression that is incorporated in
the heightened emotionality of The
Passion of Joan of Arc and the foreboding and otherworldly
psychological landscape of Vampyr and
Day of Wrath; the rigorously
formal statuesque composition of Don Fernandez's
self-flagellation and repressed thoughts in the Spanish Inquisition
segment that is hinted in the languid, fragmented articulation of
Johannes in Ordet, and is
further realized in the inexorable stasis of Gertrud;
the gentle humor and infused lightheartedness during the Finnish
Revolution section that is also manifested in Dreyer's domestic
dramas, The Parson's Widow
and Master of the House
(note the recurring image of the heart-shaped pendulum clock
that is literally recycled in Master of the
House). By portraying Satan as a deeply conflicted, perennial
spectator attempting to find and test the resolve of souls in crisis
as a redemptive opportunity for commuting closer towards eternal
paradise, Dreyer provides a thoughtful and provocative examination
of human weakness and provides a compassionate, universal metaphor
for a soul's quest for transcendence.
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A
young theologian of modest means named Söfren (Einar Röd)
has long courted his beloved Mari (Greta Almroth), but their hoped
for marriage has been indefinitely postponed by Mari's father until
Söfren has been able to find a respectable post as parson of
his own church. One day, an opportunity presents itself when the parson
of a nearby village passes away, and the local church issues an open
invitation for interested candidates to conduct a sermon before the
entire congregation. The first candidate (Olav Aukrust), a prosaic
and uncharismatic orator, soon lulls the parishioners to sleep with
his laborious speech on the origin of sin in the Garden of Eden. Meanwhile,
the devious Söfren decides to undercut his remaining rival's
chances by playing a practical joke on the distracted and oblivious
second candidate (Kurt Welin), infusing unintentional humor to the
solemnity of his sermon. Given the lackluster and amused response
to the other candidates, Söfren delivers an impassioned and inspired
sermon that captivates the audience and makes him the immediate front-runner
for appointment to the post. However, the parsonage also comes with
an unexpected obligation: the care and responsibility for the late
parson's dour and stern widow, Dame Margarete (Hildur Carlberg), who
has already outlived her three previous husbands. Drawn to the privilege
of the position - and perhaps bewitched by the inscrutable Dame Margarete
- Söfren proposes and reluctantly marries her. Rationalizing
that Dame Margarete's advanced years only proves to be a brief setback
in their marriage plan, Söfren brings Mari into the parsonage
under the pretext that she is his sister, and begin to concoct schemes
in order to expedite the widow's demise.
A
departure from Carl Theodor Dreyer's general reputation as a director
of severe, forbidding, and deeply spiritual films, 
In
1431 Rouen, in the midst of a ravaging Hundred Years War with England,
a nineteen year old French peasant girl named Jeanne (colloquially,
Joan) was condemned to death by the church tribunal for heresy, and
burned at the stake. Based on the historical transcripts of the actual
trial, Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc is an eviscerating
experimental film of faith, suffering, and redemption. The film opens
with a tracking shot of the English guards outside the courtroom,
then to the clerical judges, as Jeanne (Renee Maria Falconetti) is
escorted inside. The inquisitors hover over Jeanne, relentlessly questioning
her faith and patriotism, waiting for any incriminating statement
that would seal her fate. Unable to ensnare her in their verbal traps,
she is led away to her cell, only to be taunted by prison guards as
the daughter of God, placing a woven crown upon her head. A monk named
Loyseleur (Maurice Schutz) forges a letter from King Charles in an
attempt to entrust him into her confidence. The judges follow Loyseleur
to her cell to continue their questioning. Loyseleur initially reassures
Jeanne through subtle visual cues, but then abandons her when asked
if she is in a state of grace. A sympathetic young monk, Massieu (Antonin
Artaud), warns of the danger of the posed question, to which Jeanne
summarily replies: "If I am, may God keep me there. If I am not,
may God grant it to me." Her response confounds the calculating
judges, and compel them to employ a different tactic: physical torture.
Confused and afraid, Jeanne collapses at the sight of the barbaric
devices in the chamber. Brought outside the courtroom as a public
spectacle, a weak and delirious Jeanne reluctantly signs the confession,
and her death sentence is commuted. Returned to cell, her courage
and faith are restored by the sight of the woven crown, and implores
Cauchon (Eugene Silvain) that she wishes to recant. Unable to force
Jeanne into submission, the judges sentence her to death. 
It
is 1623, Denmark, a hundred years after the Protestant reformation,
and religious tide has swung from the sale of indulgences to theological
fanaticism. Witchcraft trials occur with certain frequency, and any
aberrant behavior is cause for denunciation. Herlof's Marthe (Anna
Svierkier), a morally weak woman who experiments with the occult,
has been denounced as a witch, and implores assistance from Anne
(Lisbeth
Movin), the young wife of Reverend Absalon Pedersson (Thorkild Roose)
to escape punishment. Years earlier, Anne's mother had similarly
been
accused of witchcraft, but was spared from the stake by Absalon's
false testament in a reprehensible act designed to win Anne's affection.
But despite threats to reveal his deception to the religious court,
Absalon remains silent. Herlof's Marthe is sentenced to burn at the
stake, and curses Absalon and the inquisitor Laurentius (Olaf Ussing)
before her death. Soon, the Pedersson household is thrown into upheaval
as Anne falls in love with Absalon's son, Martin (Preben Lerdorff
Rye), under the suspicious gaze of Absalon's mother, Meret (Sigrid
Neiiendam). Meret has long disapproved of Absalon's marriage to the
young Anne, criticizing their union as "scandalous", and Anne's overt
fondness for Martin serves to reinforce her disdain. One evening,
during a powerful storm, Absalon is called away to perform last rites
for the terminally ill Laurentius. While awaiting his return, Anne
admits to Martin her wish for her husband's death, and, in declaring
her tainted thoughts, opens herself to denunciation.
A
disconnected, soft spoken man wanders into the vast open field
of the Danish countryside, as he often does, preaching to the wind,
believing that he is Jesus Christ. His name is Johannes Borgen (Preben
Lerdorff Rye), a theology student who suffered a mental breakdown
pondering the fundamental questions of faith and religion. His younger
brother, Anders (Cay Kristiansen), notices his disappearance from
the family farm and sets out to find him with their father, Morten
(Henrik Malberg). The eldest brother, Mikkel (Emil Hass Christensen),
a morally decent agnostic, is alerted of Johannes' disappearance
by his wife, Inger (Birgitte Federspiel), the sweet, kind hearted
lady of the house, and Mikkel also joins in the familiar ritual.
Morten is a pious man who believes in a personal, unstructured
relationship with God, and is racked with guilt over Johannes' madness. Morten
had encouraged Johannes to immerse himself in his studies, convinced
that his son's charismatic personality and passionate devotion would
make him ideally suited to restore the villagers' faith in God.
Now, he prays for Johannes' suffering to end. One day, Anders confides
to Mikkel and Inger that he is in love with Anne (Gerda Nielsen),
the daughter of a strict, religious fundamentalist tailor, Peter
(Ejnar Federspiel), a relationship that is certain to be met with
disapproval. Encouraged by Inger, Morten reluctantly visits Peter,
and their polite dialogue soon escalates into a war of words over
their differing observations of faith. As Morten storms out of the
house, he receives news that Inger has suffered complications from
childbirth, and a venomous Peter declares his cruel wish for an
unspeakable tragedy so that Morten will come to accept his way
of thinking. 