Ordet
How do we understand faith and prayer, and what of miracles? August 1925 on a Danish farm. Widowed Patriarch Borgen, who's rather prominent in his community, has three sons: Mikkel, a good-hearted agnostic whose wife Inger is pregnant, Johannes, who believes he is Jesus, and Anders, young, slight, in love with the tailor's daughter. The fundamentalist sect of the girl's father is anathema to Borgen's traditional Lutheranism; he opposes the marriage until the tailor forbids it, then Borgen's pride demands that it happen. Unexpectedly, Inger, who is the family's sweetness and light, has problems with her pregnancy. The rational doctor arrives, and a long night brings sharp focus to at least four views of faith.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Ordet (1955) showcases strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Carl Theodor Dreyer's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 13-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 5 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.7, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes The Borgen family farm in rural Denmark. Mikkel's pregnant wife Inger mediates between the rational Mikkel and the fundamentalist tailor Peter, while Johannes wanders the fields believing he is Jesus Christ.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 16 minutes when Peter refuses to allow his daughter Anne to marry Anders due to religious differences between their families, creating a crisis that threatens both young love and family unity.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 32 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Inger goes into premature labor with serious complications. The doctor is called, and the family enters the new world of life-and-death stakes. The philosophical debates become urgent matters of faith versus medical science., moving from reaction to action.
At 64 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Inger dies from childbirth complications. The false hope that modern medicine and prayer combined would save her is shattered. The baby also dies. The question of faith's power reaches its crisis point., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 94 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, At Inger's coffin, the family confronts absolute loss. Mikkel openly rejects faith as useless. Peter admits his sect's beliefs are empty. Even Morten concedes that true faith no longer exists in the world. This is the spiritual death that mirrors the physical one., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 101 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Johannes approaches Inger's coffin and commands her to rise in God's name. The family watches in stunned silence as the impossible happens: Inger awakens. The synthesis of faith and reality occurs. Doubt and belief collide in the miracle., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Ordet's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 13 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Ordet against these established plot points, we can identify how Carl Theodor Dreyer utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Ordet within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
The Borgen family farm in rural Denmark. Mikkel's pregnant wife Inger mediates between the rational Mikkel and the fundamentalist tailor Peter, while Johannes wanders the fields believing he is Jesus Christ.
Theme
Peter the tailor speaks of faith's power and the deadness of modern Christianity, establishing the central question: can true faith still perform miracles in the modern world?
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the Borgen household dynamics: Morten the patriarch, his three sons (Mikkel the rationalist, Johannes the mad prophet, Anders the youngest), and Inger the compassionate daughter-in-law. The religious divide between the Borgens and Peter's sect is established.
Disruption
Peter refuses to allow his daughter Anne to marry Anders due to religious differences between their families, creating a crisis that threatens both young love and family unity.
Resistance
Morten and family debate how to handle Peter's refusal. Inger counsels patience and understanding while Morten considers confrontation. Johannes' cryptic prophecies about death go unheeded. Inger's pregnancy complications begin to manifest.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Inger goes into premature labor with serious complications. The doctor is called, and the family enters the new world of life-and-death stakes. The philosophical debates become urgent matters of faith versus medical science.
Mirror World
Johannes, the "mad" prophet, embodies the thematic counterpoint: what appears as insanity may be true faith, while what appears as sanity may be spiritual death. His presence questions the nature of belief itself.
Premise
The vigil for Inger as she struggles through labor and post-birth complications. Different characters reveal their relationship to faith: Mikkel's rationalism, Morten's weakening conviction, Peter's rigid dogma, and Johannes' mystical certainty. The exploration of faith under pressure.
Midpoint
Inger dies from childbirth complications. The false hope that modern medicine and prayer combined would save her is shattered. The baby also dies. The question of faith's power reaches its crisis point.
Opposition
The family prepares for Inger's funeral. Grief exposes each character's spiritual poverty: Mikkel's rationalism offers no comfort, Morten's faith crumbles, Peter's dogma seems hollow. Johannes disappears. Anders and Anne's love seems impossible. Death appears final and faith impotent.
Collapse
At Inger's coffin, the family confronts absolute loss. Mikkel openly rejects faith as useless. Peter admits his sect's beliefs are empty. Even Morten concedes that true faith no longer exists in the world. This is the spiritual death that mirrors the physical one.
Crisis
The dark night: the family sits with Inger's body, confronting their faithlessness and despair. The absence of Johannes (true faith) underscores the spiritual void. Little Maren, Inger's daughter, alone retains innocent belief.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Johannes approaches Inger's coffin and commands her to rise in God's name. The family watches in stunned silence as the impossible happens: Inger awakens. The synthesis of faith and reality occurs. Doubt and belief collide in the miracle.