Lent Reviews Week 3: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

     The Passion of Joan of Arc was released on January 1st, 1928. It is directed by Carl Dreyer and stars Renee Falconetti. It dramatizes trial and execution of St. Joan of Arc (Falconetti) by corrupt, English allied Catholic clergy in 15th century France.

     Often cited as one of the greatest films of all time The Passion of Joan of Arc is a film that must be experienced. It's more a subject for contemplation than analysis. As such it is difficult to really put my feelings about it into words but I'll do my best. The things that really make it stand out are Dreyer's direction and Renee Falconetti's amazing performance. The former is dissonant. With his reliance on close ups and medium shots Dreyer forces the viewer to become intimately familiar with the faces of the protagonist and her accusers. This, of course, is where Falconetti comes in. Her facial expressions are truly haunting. Reportedly, the actress had to endure kneeling on hard stone and doing takes over and over again until the director got the nuance he was looking for. Not, perhaps the most ethical method of film-making but it's hard to argue with the results. Many consider Falconetti's performance here as the greatest in any film.

     As with most silent films, the score for The Passion of Joan of Arc was provided by an organist or pianist and would vary from one showing to another. As such different copies of the film have different scores to accompany it and some prefer to watch it in complete silence, heightening the films contemplative qualities. Coming to it for the first time I opted to watch it with a score, in this case Richard Einhorn's "Voices of Light", an oratorio inspired by the film. As I watched the movie for free on Youtube I was forced to bring up the score in a separate tab and it was not perfectly in sync. In addition to this I watched the film over multiple sittings as I was distracted with other responsibilities. Despite all of this I still felt myself incredibly moved by the it. If this is a reflection of my laziness when it comes to writing for this blog hopefully it's also  a testament to the raw emotional power of this film.

     I highly recommend The Passion of Joan of Arc for any film enthusiast or those interested in religious art.

Score: 10/10