Gertrud (1964)
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Hopeless romantic Gertrud inhabits a turn-of-the-century milieu of artists and musicians, where she pursues an idealized notion of love that will always elude her. She abandons her distinguished husband and embraces an affair with a young concert pianist, who falls short of her desire for lasting affection. When an old lover returns to her life, fresh disappointments follow, and Gertrud must try to come to terms with reality.
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What critics compared Gertrud to
Circling back to Dreyer: In his final film, Gertrud , from 1964, his minimalism had progressed so far that he eschewed even the most basic props of a realistic world, such as extraneous plates or spoons in a kitchen, opting to include only items that directly served his story.
Biller recently tweeted about preparing for an interview with the Criterion Collection, and listed a few films she might talk about: Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman”; Nicholas Ray’s “Bigger Than Life” and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “Gertrud.”
It’s as pure and harrowing a last shot as those of John Ford’s “ 7 Women ” and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “ Gertrud ”—an image that, if by some terrible misfortune were to be Scorsese’s last, would rank among the most harshly awe-inspiring farewells of the cinema.