Two People

Arne, a young researcher, is accused of stealing an older professor's work. Behind the accusation lies his wife's past. The film takes place almost entirely in the couple's apartment and follows their reckoning across a single night. It is not interested in a scientific scandal. It is interested in how much two people know each other: as the night goes on, each explanation invalidates the last and it becomes unclear who is protecting whom. The form is extremely enclosed: two actors, one apartment, long scenes. On paper the setup Dreyer liked; in practice a film that did not come out as he wanted. Carl Theodor Dreyer made it in Sweden for Svensk Filmindustri immediately after Day of Wrath. He was not allowed to choose his actors, was forced to shoot a flashback he did not want, and the producer added a score he disliked. The premiere failed and Dreyer disowned the film entirely, later refusing to acknowledge its existence. It never had a commercial release outside Sweden. Georg Rydeberg and Wanda Rothgardt star. Who it is for: viewers who want to see all of Dreyer's filmography. Who it is not for: anyone expecting something like his other work. This is a narrow film that feels unfinished and that its own maker refused to claim.