Gertrud (1964)

In the elegant world of artists and musicians, Gertrud ends her marriage to Gustav and takes a lover, the composer Erland Jansson

Director:

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Writers:

Hjalmar Söderberg (play), Carl Theodor Dreyer

Stars:

Nina Pens Rode, Bendt Rothe, Ebbe Rode

3 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nina Pens Rode	...	Gertrud Kanning
Bendt Rothe	...	Gustav Kanning
Ebbe Rode	...	Gabriel Lidman
Baard Owe	...	Erland Jansson
Axel Strøbye	...	Axel Nygen
Karl Gustav Ahlefeldt
Vera Gebuhr	...	The Kannings' Maid
Lars Knutzon	...	Student orator
Anna Malberg	...	Kanning's mother
Edouard Mielche	...	The Rector Magnificus (as Edouard Mielché)

Storyline

In the elegant world of artists and musicians, Gertrud ends her marriage to Gustav and takes a lover, the composer Erland Jansson. When he also fails to live up to her idealistic standards, she leaves him and imposes on herself a kind of exile of the heart. In flashbacks and in conversations laced with memories, we also learn of her affair with Gabriel, who still wishes she would go off with him, and we learn of her adolescence, with its early expression of her isolating ideal of absolute love.

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Plot Keywords:

lover | love | flashback | actor plays character with same name | female singer | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

2 June 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gertroudi

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palladium Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 112 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite running 2 hours, there are less than 90 shots in the entire film and only one exterior scene. This may account for the outright hostility that greeted the film from the critical fraternity when it was first released.

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Goofs

When Gertrud walks across the room in order to give Axel his letters back, the shadow from the camera and equipment can clearly be seen on the back wall.

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Quotes

Gertrud Kanning: The gardener has been told that only grass shall grow on my grave and in springtime I shall have anemones. You'll come by one day, pick an anemone and think of me. Take it as a word of love that was thought, but never spoken.

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Connections

Referenced in Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Vesti la giubba"
(uncredited)
from "I Pagliacci"
Music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo

User Reviews

Woman vows to live in uncompromising bliss or gloom

Cinema Great Carl Dreyer's final film is said to be his masterpiece as well. The innovative b&w cinematography, featuring only a handful, drawn out scenes in confined spaces, makes use of mirrors, shadows and suggested action. The story begins ca. 1900, studying several characters in depth. Gertrud, the wife of a wealthy lawyer with political aspirations, feels unappreciated by her work-consumed husband. The viewer quickly learns that Gertrud is about to end what appeared to be years of boredom as the "attache" of a man who lives mainly for his secular accomplishments. Despite his protests and assurances that he couldn't live without her, she leaves to see a lover.

Drawn to men of the arts, Gertrud herself was once a celebrated opera singer. A lengthy love affair with a man who later becomes a nationally honored poet, left the jilted author heart broken. Another man, a pioneer in the field of psychiatry, becomes Gertrud's friend and confidante, but never a lover.

The story, via flashbacks, present action and time scan forward shows Gertrud's entire adult life. The final scene offers somewhat of an explanation for why this woman has seemingly denied herself any true happiness. The men who offered her everything, even with the greatest possible concessions on their part, were told not to bother. Gertrud's extreme sense of pride, as noticed by a young musical genius who sees her as a convenient fling, leaves no wavering of the determined mind.

If this film appeared to be scandalous in 1964, how would society view this kind of real activity in the early 1900s? A strong sense of "truth", as a philosopher may call it, will always override any kind of compromise. "Love is all", the only words on Gertrud's head stone. There must be more to life than strict adherence to an ideology, especially at the high cost. A critically acclaimed film, "Gertrud" nonetheless lacks entertainment value due to its fatalistic story telling