An ambitious, visually striking biography of Carl Theodor Dryer, one of the most distinctive of the great European directors. Comprehensive excerpts from Dryer's films are combined with quotes and reminiscences delivered by numerous acquaintances, colleagues and the Director himself. Jensen weaves his source materials into a dense b/w collage in which Dreyer's late work occupies a primary position. The staunch determination with which Dreyer clung to his more eccentric ideas is astonishing. In Ordet, for instance, he cast an inmate of a lunatic asylum in the leading role. Dreyer spent the long, involuntary pauses between making films in a state of almost Zen-like indifference, only to emerge with a completed film in his mind when a new production got the go-ahead. "I shed no tear about my fate. I prefer to be one of the conquerors." Undoubtedly, Dreyer was one of the pioneers of modern film.