Off-List: Ved vejen
It has been quiet here on my blog in July, but now I am back
from my summer vacation and the first movie is a Danish off-List movie called “Ved
Vejen”. I believe the English title is “Katinka”.
“Ved Vejen” is based on a story by Herman Bang and is, as
far as I can tell, the only movie ever directed by the great Max von Sydow. It
takes place in a small provincial community in Denmark around the turn of the
century (that is, around 1900) and is particularly concerned with a woman
called Katinka (Tammi Øst). In the opening scenes, Katinka is lying on her
deathbed and is soon after getting her funeral, so we know that whatever is
going to happen, will end poorly for Katinka.
Katinka is a quiet and thoughtful woman who is married to
the stationmaster, Mr. Bai (Ole Ernst), at the little train station. Bai is a
loud and big man, very jovial but also a bit insensitive. A new manager, Mr.
Huus (Kurt Ravn) arrives to run one of the big farms in the area, and he causes
some disturbance in the little community. The women see him as a very handsome
man and surprisingly he is unengaged. As he seems uninterested in the eligible
girls, he is written off as a bit odd, though very capable. Secretly though, he
is falling in love with Katinka and she in him. Both are intensive but quiet types,
and both know that this love is impossible for the simple fact that Katinka is
married. They are so discreet even that it takes them most of the movie to
realize that their feelings are shared. Both Bai and his wife have taken Huus
into their home and Bai sees Huus as his friend, completely (and blissfully)
unaware of the unspoken love between his wife and his friend. Huus is in
obvious pain every time Bai makes a show of his love for his wife, but has
enough politeness to be quiet. This dance takes up about an hour of the movie,
until near the end, the walls are falling and Huus and Katinka admit their love
for each other with the clear admission that this means they must part. Hence Katinka’s
wasting and death.
This is the basic story. Everything else is framing. There
are many characters introduced and many small side plots, but they all served to
frame this basic triangle of impossible love.
It is a very classic plot, timeless even, and their
situation would be difficult in any age. By placing the story in the time and
environment used here, it is not just difficult, it is virtually impossible. In
this time and place, divorce is unheard of and the reason that applies here,
love to another man, is considered adultery. That it is the woman in the
marriage who loves another man, just makes it so much more socially
unacceptable. In this way, “Ved vejen” is related to such Victorian movies as “Room
with a View” where social constraints build solid walls around people. Yet even
without the social mores, Huus and Katinka’s relationship is doomed. Both are
too conscious of the damage they would do. Bai may appear like an insensitive
bully, but he sincerely loves his wife, and she does care for him a lot. He
does not deserve to be dumped even if he is not worthy of her. I actually like
Bai, I could see him as a friend and in those scenes on Katinka’s death bed, we
see him completely reduced and broken to lose his wife.
I went into this movie not knowing what sort of movie I
would be watching. The Danish output in 1988 was not impressive and this was
one I had never watched before. The topic, though, is one I have a very hard
time dealing with, so I spent a large part of the movie focussing on everything
else in the movie. This was quite rewarding. They went all in to create a believable
set for the movie. Often these period pieces look like a dress-up party, but
here every detail was strictly period, from simple things like the lamps and
trains to intricate things like the dialogue and the sentiments of the characters.
This felt like going 130 years back in time. We see the holidays, the town
fair, the parties and the daily work and there are so many details. It also helps
that there are all these small side stories to latch onto. Most of them has to
do with the importance to find somebody to marry, as if going around unmarried
is a half death sentence, which of cause underlines the importance of the
institution in this environment, but there are also some levity among the stories
that helps this from being a complete misery feast.
This does not change that this is a movie to make you feel
miserable, unless of course you enjoy impossible love stories. I know a large
portion of the human population do love exactly that, but I am not among those
and for that reason, I doubt this is a movie I am going to watch again.
So, how did Max von Sydow perform as a director? The direction
is flawless. I can only regret he did not direct more movies.
