Master of the House. 1925. Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer.

(4/30/00)

The Master of the House is a richly-observed story of domestic life. It is about a man who has lost his business and takes his frustrations out on his family. He criticizes his wife incessantly and the children as well. His wife comes to a breaking point and is persuaded to go away for a rest. The husband is made to realize her value to him, but the family servant--who raised him as a child--will not allow her to return until he agrees to stand in the corner with his hands behind his back.

There is a sureness in the direction which I can't explain, but can certainly feel. The performances are right. Dreyer was a master in the use of faces and he certainly communicates through the face in this picture. I was especially impressed by the actress who played Auntie Mads, the family servant. The wife's mother, who appeared relatively briefly, was a fine study in dignity.

In the early part of the film we see the husband being cranky and making demands on and criticizing his wife. I immediately thought that he was an unhappy man and wondered why. It is not until later, when Auntie Mads and the mother are trying to persuade the wife to leave him, that we learn that he has lost his business and is having trouble keeping the family solvent. The withholding of this information for a time is quite effective.

I liked it when Auntie Mads takes over the household. The husband was always criticizing, but when he trips on an object that Auntie Mads left in his way (deliberately, I think) she just looks at him and says, "You should be more careful."

It is fun watching this man be tamed by this stern yet compassionate matriarch. He certainly needs to be taught a lesson, but it goes a little too far. What happens is that the family servant decides that the wife shall not return until the husband agrees to stand in the corner and be punished like a little boy. What gives this woman the right to make the rules? When the husband speaks to his mother-in-law, she says, referring to Auntie Mads, "You know her terms." I don't think he should have allowed himself to be bullied by this woman and I don't think that the wife should have gone along with it, either.

Other than that, I really enjoyed this film and would very much like to see it again. One shot that impressed me was when the daughter goes to comfor her father who is missing his wife. She tenderly puts her hand on his in a closeup and he puts his on hers.