41. The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928)

Directed By Carl Th. Dreyer

Synopsis

The film tells the tale of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc.

Review

This is probably the best film I have reviewed up until now. It is a truly amazing film, not only in terms of technique but also of acting and sheer emotional power. The version of the film that I watched is the one published by Criterion, it comes with a soundtrack recently compsed for the film entitled Voices of Light, which does a good job of enhancing the film and that I reccomend vividly, as there is no "original" soundtrack as the film was lost for a long time and only recovered in 1985.

The story of the film is common knowledge, but Dreyer tells it like no other before or after and frankly all the films about Joan Of Arc that I had the misfortune to see are really crap. So it was done right the first time. Dreyer tells the story mostly through close-ups which are extremely effective. Firstly he chose a roster of freaks to represent the Church judges that surely had a great influence on the later film made of Name Of The Rose by Jean Jacques Annaud. But even more impressive than the faces of the judges is the constantly suffering face of Joan.

Maria Falconnetti who plays Joan must have had one of the toughest parts in the whole of silent cinema. She is either crying, on the verge of tears or looking at the camera with a glaze over her eyes in schizophrenic religious ecstasy. She also gets all her hair cut in preparation for jail. And the film doesn't pull it's punches, the image of a bent over carbonised Joan burning at the stake will stay with you.

A truly powerful and beautiful film which needs to be seen. If anyone knows of a showing of it in the big screen in the UK drop me a line. Buy it urgently at Amazon UK or US.

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

Feel Good Movie of the Year!

From Wikipedia:

Story and style

The film details the last hours of Joan of Arc after she has been captured by the English. It details her trial, imprisonment, torture and final execution similar to that of a passion play. What especially stood out at the time Passion was made was the film's camera-work and emphasis on the actors' facial features. Dreyer shot a great deal of the film in close-up and forbade his actors to wear any makeup, the better to tell the story through their expressions. Falconetti — in her second and last movie role — was commended for her multifaceted performance as Joan.

Passion was originally intended to use the new technology of sound, but Dreyer did not have sufficient financing and so the film is silent.

Dreyer intended the film to be watched in complete silence with no musical accompaniment. However, in 1994 composer Richard Einhorn wrote an oratorio based on the movie, entitled "Voices of Light". This piece is now available as an optional accompaniment on the Criterion Collection's DVD release of the film. In 1999, American indie singer/songwriter Cat Power provided musical accompainment at several screenings of the film in America.


Responses and legacy

Some critics claimed that Passion was the best silent film ever made, and Pauline Kael wrote that Falconetti's portrayal of Joan of Arc "may be the finest performance ever recorded on film." However, it was banned in Britain for its portrayal of crude English soldiers who mock and torment Joan in scenes that mirror biblical accounts of Christ's mocking at the hands of Roman soldiers. The Archbishop of Paris was also critical, demanding changes be made to the film. Whether or not this request was honored in any way is unknown.

The original version of the film was lost for decades, after a fire destroyed the master negative. Dreyer himself attempted to reassemble a version from out-takes and surviving prints, but he died believing his original cut was lost forever. Almost miraculously, a virtually complete print of Dreyer's original version was found in 1981 in a janitor's closet of an Oslo mental institution. This version is now available on DVD.