A Doll's House (1973) - based on the play by Henrik Ibsen
(Norway)

This is a review of an offering from Norway of this play - entitled
"Et Dukkehjem"  (Norwegian language - english subtitles etc)

A dolls house is an important movie for the world. Its ramifications couldn't possibly
be overstated. It is literally about the most crucial decisions ahead of us and that have been perennially divisive. Its about what value are real,  and most worth defending, and who should our leaders be in discerning them for us, given that the world has a psychological dichotomy of sorts that has always been unbridgeable between opposite psychological types as are presented in the marriage 
shown in this movie - and needless to say, cannot be sustained when the facts of these differences are brought to light with  sufficient force of emotion.

It needs to be noted that the rendition starring Anthony Hopkins couldn't have been more miscast, in a way as to altogether retard the basic argument. The contrast between the characters involved. 



In fact the woman who plays Kristine in this Norwegian original work is essentially the type of person that was picked to play Nora in the Hopkins version as it were although the  comparison is only fundamentally valid and I don't go beyond that except to 
say the differences are quite apparent when comparing these women to our Nora in this Norwegian true to the book version. In fact for those viewing this movie in America, or Ireland etc, you will find it hard to see Nora here as anything but an Irish woman as that 
is in fact precisely who she is to you, if you have studied some of the history of the peoples of Ireland and where it is that they broadly originate from, and so I hope your very special interest is altogether captivated in her plight and your concern for her in our world.


Nora Helmer - The Fassbinder version of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"
Click here for a lo-lo poor res (the only seeming available)
sample download of this complete version


By the way, the Fassbinder vesion of this play has the two characters seeming much closer together in understanding at the level of mutual respect for one another that would be expected in German culture for the characters that ar depicted in the casting that is employed.

As for the Norwegian rendition once again, it must be said that in the end, the debauchery of the emotions brought about by a forceful disclosure to one another that these two types of beings are so fundamentally different brings the character of Nora to see her husband in the movie play "Torvald" as a devil in disguise, no less, to her own mindset while he sees her as a fallen woman of sorts, lacking a type of virtue as it were, given that she has broken his code, misguided and inane as that viewpoint is by comparison.

Yet they will never come to terms with these differences of opinions as they are born with different minds on the matter although some would apply the nature versus nurture argument to suggest they might be closer brought in the future. This is both misguided and foolhardy in fact. All that can be done is to protect Nora better in that what  she brings to our world is in fact the greatest care and nurturing of  a real Christianly spirit - and we must see that she  is never assailed  in her life as she is in this movie for being a good soul among men.

Michael Rizzo Chessman
michael@moviesbyrizzo.com





(Jane Fonda version)