They Caught the Ferry (1948)

A man and a woman on a motorcycle arrive with a ferry to Assens. They want to catch the next ferry in Nyborg, on the other side of the island, but this ferry will leave in three quarters of... See full summary »

Director:

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Writers:

Carl Theodor Dreyer, Johannes V. Jensen (story)

Star:

Joseph Koch

Cast

Cast overview:
Joseph Koch	...	Himself

Storyline

A man and a woman on a motorcycle arrive with a ferry to Assens. They want to catch the next ferry in Nyborg, on the other side of the island, but this ferry will leave in three quarters of an hour and the ferry berth is 70 km away. The road has lot of curves, but they ride the bike in a high speed. An old-fashioned car has left the ferry in Assens at the same time as the motorcycle. They try to overtake the car on the road, but the driver won't let them pass. When they take a chance on his right side, the motorcycle smashes into a tree. The Ferryman takes the bodies of the man and the woman on his boat to the land of the dead.

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Plot Keywords:

ferry | motorcycle | death | gas station | coffin | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama | Horror

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Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

12 May 1948 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

They Caught the Ferry

Filming Locations:

Assens, Fyn, Denmark

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carl Theodor Dreyer's script for this short subject was an adaptation of a story by Danish author Johannes V. Jensen, who won the Nobel Prize in 1944, several years before this film was made. The concept for the film was the producer's, not Dreyer's.

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Connections

Featured in Carl Th. Dreyer: My Métier (1995)

User Reviews

I didn't know what to expect from this, and it's really a nifty short

They Caught the Ferry is a superb little exercise in filming and editing to maximum potential. According to the summary, it was meant as a propaganda piece against fast driving in Denmark. Going into it I had no idea that would be what it's about, maybe it would be some quick doc on ferries. Turns out it gives the director Carl TH Dreyer much to work with in little time and resources. All he has is a few opening and closing shots of a ferry, with the filler being a couple on a motorcycle. It starts off mundanely enough, not even bothering with things like really establishing character or a story. In a way it's in common with Passion of Joan of Arc by it being a simple, fatalistic situation unfolding. Like that film as well, it could just as well function as a silent work with its very brief, interesting but unimportant dialog, and it's style more akin to that era's reaches for a visual freedom. The numerous shots of the field going by, the two on the motorcycle, the intensity that starts to slowly build (there's no music) with what might come of these characters in pursuit of their goal. It's not too far out or over-stylized, however, and it's more in tune with cinema verite at times, bordering on it being quite ahead of its time; shots like these pop up close to being this good in today's movies with more resources and time. Obviously not one to be seen by many as it's on a DVD with an equally obscure silent film from the 20s, but it's definitely worth the ten minutes if you got it.