Day Of Wrath Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

A masterwork

This is only the second Dreyer film that I have seen. On that evidence it seems to me that Dreyer is one of the greatest artists who worked in cinema. This is a harrowing film to watch because we know from the earliest frames that it will work out tragically. I am sure many will press eject turned off by the 'doom and gloom' of this Dane. Stay the course if you can because you will be privileged to see one of the best studies of the dilema of the individual in society that has been created in any medium. Dreyer is a consumate director whose pictures and sound and performances cohere into a compelling unity. Made during the Nazi occupation in the 2nd world war and under their very noses this is a triumphant plea for individual freedom in the face of one of the most evil ideologies in human history.

I can see through the tears, but no one will wipe them away.

Harrowing, intense and severe; Day of Wrath uses a community obsessed with witchcraft as an allegory of the clash between society and the individual woman. The steady, lingering pace and the expressive use of light and darkness slowly scar the viewer with Dreyer's prime concerns of guilt, religious faith and social intolerence. A compelling film, which like all Dreyer's work, is beautifully shot and essential for any enthusiast of cinema.