Using Carl Th. Dreyer’s drama film Ordet (1955), this article aims to shed light on the extent to which Dreyer’s film language can be associated with Lutheran-Protestant ideas and principles of faith. It is argued that for the audience, the film takes on a similar function to that of the law in the process of man’s justification by God as described by Luther. By depicting a relationship between man and God that is marked by distance, the film draws attention to man’s need for redemption. Furthermore, Dreyer’s work can be considered an »invisible image« that indirectly refers to the existence of a merciful God.
Hanna Rothmund (Mon,) studied this question.