"This reconstruction of Carl Th." "Dreyer's movie Water from the land from 1946 is made on the basis of a gallery of stills and unedited audio recordings." "Water from the land" " Tell me, Mr engineer, where do water come from?" " From the sky." " I thought it came from the ground." " No." "Water comes from the sky." " But how?" " Water soaks down into the ground and is later pumped back up." " Sorry, I do not get it." " It is not so difficult." " Water soaks into the ground until it reaches an impermeable layer of soil." "Here it remains." "This layer of water is called the groundwater." " I see." "But then the water must be very dirty after soaking through the soil?" " I figured you would not understand." "Groundwater is very pure and germ-free." " I do not get it." " I will explain." "As rainwater soaks down it is filtered such that it contains no germs." " You whistle every time you understand something?" " Precisely." " So wells are made to bring up the groundwater?" " Exactly." " That is great." " I could be, but it is not." " Why not?" " The doctor will explain that." " Hello Mr Doctor." " Hello." "*Scene missing*" " Countryside wells are in poor shape." " Is that so?" " Yes." "Today one half of the countrymen drink insanitary water." " Please repeat." " Half the countrymen drink insanitary water on a daily basis." " That sounds scary." " It is." " But why is this so?" " Most places the wells are in a wretched state." " What is that?" " That is Ole Hansen's farm in Kviebæk." " Why do we go there?" " I want to show you a poor well." " That sounds interesting?" " It will be." "I promise." " Let us lift the well cover." " That is disgusting." " Exactly." "Look at the wood-louses." " I hope they do not fall into the well." " They probably will." " There is an earthworm." " It might also fall into the well." "But you will see much worse sights." " Let us close the well again." " Yes." "Let us look at the cover itself." " It is a little worn." " I would rather say rotten." "And it is covered in dirt." " Where do the dirt come from?" " You will see." " Oh, the cat is cute." " Look at the mans feet instead." " He put his foot in it." " Yes." "Now he goes to the well." " Is she washing diapers?" " Yes." " Now she steps in the dirty water." " She is probably heading for the well." " Probably." " Oh, he is in dire straights." " Or a sick person transmitting his germs to the well." " Yes." "A heartwarming room." " There is a bucket." "It has to be emptied." " Where does he take it?" " Probably to the dung heap as usual." "Trouble arises if there is a sick person on the farm." "Because sooner or later the germs of the sick person will go to the well." " May I see inside the well?" " Certainly." " Crikey!" " That is just a dead rat." " Yikes." "It does look sick as a dog." " You should rather say sick as a rat." " And what is that?" " A toad." "It will probably fall down to the rat." " They would make a nice couple." " Do you see the slimy walls?" " Where do all that moisture come from?" " It seeps in from the surroundings." "The engineer knows more about this." " The dung heap lies near the well." "This is pictures of the real dung heap." " What is on the other side of the well?" " That is a sewage pipe." " Is there anything wrong with it?" " You will see." " Perhaps the pipes do not seal tightly?" " Bravo." "You are starting to catch up." " Thank you." " See how filth seeps in from both sides." "Do you know why?" " Because the walls are not water-tight?" " Correct." "You get top marks." " But the water from the faucet is clear." " Do not be fooled." "Clear water can contain many germs." "Many illnesses can spread through water." "Typhoid, paratyphoid, Weil's disease, dysentery, even infantile paralysis." " Yikes!" " Is she washing strawberries?" " Yes." "In water from the dung heap." " She is not aware of that." " No." "Fortunately for her." "She does not know either, that she brushes teeth in sewage water." " No." " It is washing day." " If he just knew about the dead rat." " Yikes!" ""Cleanliness is a good thing", ..." " the woman thinks, while she cools the bathing water with dirty water." "Watch this." "The germ-filled sponge goes into the mouth." " Yikes!" " How do you know, that the water is full of the germs?" " That can be seen with a microscope." "Do you want to see?" " Yes please." "That is a funny chap." " That is the rotifer." " I see." " That is the rotifer's wife." " I see, the small one." " In a moment a nasty fellow will turn up." "Watch." "There he is." "It is the sludge worm." " He would be nice to have in your cup?" " Indeed." "The water contains germs, when these three animals are present." " The danger is imminent." " Countless dangers exist, when germs are present." " Are you not exaggerating?" " Absolutely not." " Suppose the water is used to clean milk cans, then typhoid germs will get into the milk." " Then what will happen?" " In ten hours a single typhoid germ can multiply into a million." " Blimey!" " Yes." "Here you see the result." "An epidemic breaks out." "*Typhoid in Kviebæk*" "*The epidemic in Kviebæk grows* *167 cases last week*" "*Source of infection in Kviebæk found* *Typhoid germs in the milk from Ole Hansen's farm*" " Something should be done." " Of course." "*The milk epidemic in Kviebæk* *Typhoid germs came from well water*" " But what?" " It is best to build small waterworks." " Is that not very expensive?" " No." "A waterworks for 20 farms costs 15000 Kr." " How do you get such a waterworks?" " The community can seek help from the country commission." "Then a well driller and a suitable spot is found." " What is the tube used for?" " The tube is stuck into the ground." "Inside the tube a chisel hammers the earth loose." "Afterwards a pump is lead into the tube and the loose earth is sucked up." " What happens when the good groundwater is found?" " Then a waterworks is built on top of the hole." " What is happening?" " The water is aerated and iron is removed." " Here it is filtered and pumped out to the farms." " I see." " It is my turn!" "Owing to waterworks countrymen now have running water, bathrooms and showers just like city-dwellers." " That is right." " The kitchen has hot and cold water." " Even the cows are serviced." " Then it is not difficult to be a cow?" " No." "Exactly." " Why do we return here?" " I will tell you." "Ole Hansen is getting a new well." "His farm lies too secluded to receive water from the waterworks." "He builds his well properly this time." "He uses water-tight concrete collars instead of bricks." " Why is the new well not built in the same place as the old?" " So filth from the dung heap and the sewage pipe can not flow into it." " Now it is my turn again!" "Do you want to know more?" " Yes." "Why do you show this movie to me?" "It is for the countrymen." " It is also for city-dwellers." "You need to inspect wells when you rent a dacha." "Did you not think of that?" " Honestly, no." " Do you know why he puts mortar between the collars?" " Of course." "To seal the furrows so filth can not enter." " Bravo." " The top of the well must be above the ground so surface water can not enter." " He is on a roll." " The cover must be of durable concrete." " Bravo." " The cover must also be sealed to avoid filth coming in." " He is brilliant." " The well must be placed slightly elevated, so surface water flows from the well." " My hat is off to you." " Mine is off too." " Yes, that is water!" "Real water as we learnt about in school." "Consisting of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen." " Yes." "Not like the water from the old well, which consisted of two parts rotifer and one part sludge worm." "The End" "Reconstructed by KimerFilm for Det Danske Filminstitut"