La passion de Jeanne d'Arc
FR 82m(restored version) Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer Key Cast: Renée Jeanne Falconetti
Original Screenplay (Based on real events)
No-one before or since this film was released has made anything like it.
Rather than being a biopic depicting Joan of Arc's whole life, the film focuses only on her trial and execution based on original transcripts of her trial. This is just the first of many ways in which the film was forward thinking.
Director Carl Theodor Dreyer chooses to use close-up shots of the actors and does so not just occasionally but the majority of the time. Joan of Arc in particularly is barely shown in anything other than close up. Dreyer also refused to allow the cast to wear make-up and intentionally chose the most unflattering angles. The result is raw humanity without any kind of filter- we're forced to look straight at Joan of Arc as she suffers immensely.
Because the film spends so much time focuses directly on Joan of Arc's face there is nowhere to hide for the actor that portrays her, Renée Jeanne Falconetti. A lot of the reason seems to be that Dreyer pretty much did torture he, forcing her to kneel on stone and then wipe all expression from her face, filming the same shots over and over again and generally treated harshly. Falconetti much preferred the stage to the screen so there have must have been something which kept her going. It's one of the greatest on screen performances of all time and the very best of the silent era.
In terms of story, the film is fascinating. Choosing to focus on the final part of Joan's life is actually really clever because it shows you everything you need to know about her. She's emotional and pious and brave. The title alludes to the death of Jesus Christ and compares Joan of Arc, now a Saint to Christ. She seemed to have a genuine belief that she was communicating with God and the English and their allies decided this must be blasphemy because they didn't believe that God was siding with the enemy. Even so, the way they treated her is abhorrent and indicative of medieval sexism that somehow still lingers on into the 20th century.
Hugely powerful, cinematically fascinating and with a mesmerizing central performance this is simply one of the best films ever made.
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