After a pretty bad week with the silent era genre that began with
The Phantom Carriage, I decided to sit down tonight to watch Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1925 film,
Master of the House. This film would serve as my first introduction to the director and his body of work.
Master of the House centers around a family on the verge of splitting apart due to the abusive and tyrannical husband, Viktor. After losing his business, Viktor has developed a rather bitter personality that has been directly affecting his wife and children for an undisclosed amount of time. After an intervention of sorts with his wife, Ida, her mother, and Viktor's childhood nanny, "Mads", Viktor stomps off to get some fresh air. During this time, Ida decides that she will take some time away from the family in order to get some much needed physical and mental rest. When Viktor comes home, he is livid and given a reality check. It is either up for him to reassess his lifestyles and change for the better or risk losing Ida forever.
The film serves as one of the earliest examples of challenging the patriarchal society. Through Ida's time away from the family, Viktor learns the importance of the female in the household. They are not there to slave away during all hours of the day, but rather they are the heart, soul, and caretakers of the family.
As much as I enjoyed the message given off by this film, I could not help being turned off by many of the obvious and phony things that weigh this film down. Note: I will put the details in spoiler tags to prevent anyone from being spoiled.
[Show spoiler]- Everything in the film feels scripted to the point that it feels unnatural. All of the actors say their lines and carry themselves to the point where it is laughable. No one can do any wrong by the time the film is over and everybody lives happily ever after. Given the context of the film, this is a large step in the wrong direction.
- At the beginning of the film, we meet an unbelievably cruel individual (Viktor) who finds fault with everything, regardless of how big or small they may be. He abuses his family both mentally and physically and they manage to stand by his side, doing whatever he asks of them. As soon as Ida leaves the household, Viktor manages to do a complete 180º turn and become the most gentle, kind-hearted, remorseful individual. By the time the movie is over, you will be double-checking that you are in fact still watching Master of the House.
- Viktor's childhood nanny, "Mads", serves as the nanny for the modern day Viktor and his family. She keeps to herself for the first portion of the film, but as soon as Ida leaves the household, she becomes the domineering individual of the family. This may have been my biggest issue with the film because I was happy that she was treating Viktor cruelly in a manner similar to how he himself treated his own family (payback can be very unpleasant). On the other hand, do two wrongs make a right?
Those are just a few of the things that I found wrong about the film. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much the film kept my interest.
Master of the House was definitely ahead of its time in terms of challenging the social structures of society. Due to its interesting story and comfortable pacing, the film gets a solid rating in my book.
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