I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Saint Matthews ,10-35)
These are words by Christ who hinted at an upheaval in the society in which you had to "honor thy father and thy mother", in which slavery was a fait accompli ; loyalty to Christ might lead to severance from the milieu where you were nurtured .But Christ's tenet was not only that: the New Testament and the hard Old one are "worlds apart" ( that's the English title of the movie)
In this excellent movie,the petulant Jehovah brings this about : it's not a problem of Danemark ,I'm not Danish ,and I've heard several times the "pioneers" knock on my door to bring me "the good news" .
Jehovah is,in these people 's mind , demanding but rewarding and you've got to sacrifice everything ,even your own life (the friend's awful fate after her accident is considered a blessing ,because her abnegation opened up the pearly gates for her ) and your family :the one depicted in " to verdener" is split into two "camps" and even three if you count the son , who first left and who became excommunicated ,a pariah to his own family ; the mother is adamant ,ruthless ,and forgiveness is a word she does not know .
It's too bad the boyfriend's parents characters are not more developped : they are atheist ,well-balanced and happy and they do tell their son's squeeze is part of a sect ;on the other hand ,it's a good idea to introduce the boy -who just pretends - in their congregation .
Based on a true story , it's an important movie, because it shows what lies beneath those would be "good news" .