'Ordet'

A very fascinating film based on the play by Kaj Munk, a Danish pastor.

Munk's interesting in his own right. He was a foster kid after his parents died and he quickly found himself in the Lord's work. He had stated a certain admiration for Adolph Hitler for unifying Germany and even advocated a Nordic dictator that would unify Scandanavia. However, he opposed the Nazi occupation of Denmark, despised the Axis actions against the Jews and wrote plays and newspaper articles decrying these actions and criticizing fascism.

For one of those plays, Munk was arrested by the Gestapo and murdered and left in a ditch. He is considered martyr (which I thought was a religious thing, not ideological) and his death is considered a starting point for the Danish Resistance.

Ordet is not political. It revolves around the patriarch of a farming family and his three songs: One of which is a married father and athiest, the second studied too much Kierkegaard and thinks he's Jesus Christ, and the third wants to marry the town tailor, but is disallowed between differing thoughts on being a Protestant, which is about the most ridiculous thing in the world, but this Denmark. I mean, the film has a guy that thinks he's Jesus and the kids being disallowed to marry due to ecumenical differences is still the nuttiest thing ever.

Things round out when the crazy brother resurrects the eldest brother's wife after she perishes after child birth and also ends up bridging the gap with the marriage thing. And it ends happily ever after unless you consider having to live the rest of your life with the lady that was dead for an hour. Really creepy.

People really need more shame regarding death.