The Divine Order Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Divine Order Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 11, 2018

While “The Divine Order” shares a story of gender discrimination, misogyny, and marital woes, it’s almost refreshing to find the tale taking place in Switzerland, avoiding American hostilities for once. The change in location is most welcome, with writer/director Petra Biondina Volpe examining the pains of womanhood from a different perspective, and while American influence remains, the screenplay showcases a distinct cultural fingerprint as it details the jail sentence of being a woman in 1971. “The Divine Order” has its melodramatic urges, but it’s an excellent overview of personal need with sharply defined characters, returning to an era of global change with a few details that mirror today’s social turbulence. Volpe taps into the zeitgeist and shares a period saga of equality, creating a picture that’s essential viewing for those interested in a wider perspective on feminist challenges.

While America undergoes a feminist revolution, with charged images of resistance carrying all over the world, Nora (Marie Leuenberger) remains a housewife in a small Switzerland village, dutifully tending to the needs of her husband, Hans (Maximilian Simonischek), and their two children. Nora desires travel, but most importantly, she wants a job, feeling burned-out on household routine, considering a position with a travel agency. However, Hans refuses to permit such change. With a vote on women’s suffrage on the horizon, Nora decides to understand the movement, inspired by her friend Theresa (Rachel Braunschweig) and her battles to protect her reckless daughter, Hanna (Ella Rumpf). Helping to form an association for women in the village with Vroni (Sibylle Brunner), Nora inadvertently becomes the face of the movement, embarrassing Hans as the town turns on the family, opening them to ridicule and employment antagonisms, leaving the once submissive wife and mother to reconsider her activism as the country moves toward previously unthinkable change.

Freedoms are small for Nora at the beginning of “The Divine Order,” with the simple act of riding a bike to Theresa’s home offering a brief moment of liberation. Otherwise, Nora is left with household demands and a limited social network, living in a remote part of the world where the declaration of feminism is akin to an act of war. However, Volpe doesn’t make her a depressed, bruised victim, keeping Nora a product of family influence, newly energized to meet her potential while she manages rejection from Hans and his grandfather, whose crusty perspective on gender equality is shared throughout the village, treating women with complete disdain. “The Divine Order” is perhaps simplified to capture audience attention, but Volpe doesn’t sacrifice emotional subtlety, watching Nora process her place in life, inspired by Theresa’s paralysis around Hanna, who’s eventually jailed for her rebellious ways, with men electing to lock a woman in a cage instead of dealing with her needs.

Nora’s odyssey is not without some brightness, with the first shots fired taking place in a beauty salon, finding the formation of bangs a potent update to personal style, soon joined by tighter jeans and day trips to Zurich, where Nora, Theresa, and Vroni watch a public suffrage demonstration they soon find themselves participating in, filling their lungs with the sweet air of protest. Also threaded throughout “The Divine Order” is sexuality, with Nora exposed to the wonders of her own vagina, joining the ladies in a personal health class that celebrates “Yoni Power,” getting comfortable with the “tiger” down below. Nora’s inexperience with the female orgasm plays a surprisingly pronounced role in Volpe’s screenplay, exposing a complete disconnect from pleasure, which, to her fellow suffragettes, adds to the rainbow of femininity and empowerment.

The Divine Order Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation captures the sharpness of the HD-shot production, delivering a highly detailed look at the performers and their skin textures, while period decoration stays open for inspection, selling the era. Locations provide crisp, dimensional distances, adding to a sense of isolation for the characters. Group meetings showcase the community in full. Costumes are fibrous. Colors are bold, with vivid primaries that maintain era-specific paint jobs and clothing. Outdoor snowscapes are bright white with compelling patches of greenery. Delineation is communicative.

The Divine Order Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers an appealing sense of immersion, with strong surround activity that sells atmospherics well, from stiff mountain winds to echoed interiors, while the group dynamic is deep and precise. Dialogue exchanges are sharp and true, providing sharp emotionality. Scoring selections are strong, with lush instrumentation and respectful volume, and soundtrack cuts retain their pop appeal.

The Divine Order Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (14:03, HD) visits the production of "The Divine Order" as it films a march sequence, showcasing the choreography of extras, downtime between shots in the bitter cold, and a touch of creative disagreement between director Petra Biondina Volpe and cinematographer Judith Kaufmann. Simple stuff, but it's always interesting to see an unvarnished look at filmmaking, watching how scenes are put together.

• Interviews (all HD) visits a junket setting to discuss character and thematic urgency with Marie Leuenberger (2:47), Maximilian Simonischek (3:55), Rachel Braunschweig (4:35), Sibylle Brunner (2:21), Petra Biondina Volpe (5:50), and Therese Affolter (2:06).

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:01, HD) is included.

The Divine Order Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Divine Order" pours antagonism on a little thick at times, with male characters too black hat for comfort, though Hans is offered some dimension, clearly in love with his wife, but trained in the ways of superiority. Again, Volpe goes broad to achieve certain reactions to the insanity of the situation, but the picture doesn't fall apart, remaining true to the spirit of the era and the confusion of the characters, most in fear of reprisal if they vote for their own rights, but drawn to the call of the association, which eventually goes to drastic means to make an impression on the village. "The Divine Order" has heart and an interest in reminding viewers of the way things were not so long ago, and how they remain today. Certainly it plays directly to its target demographic, but it's evocative, superbly performed work, highlighting gender hostilities that could easily be inspired from today's headline news.