The Passion of Joan of Arc
1928
Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer
The power of Carl Th. Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) begins in the eyes of Maria Renee Falconetti. In a performance that is routinely labeled the best ever put to celluloid, Falconetti cuts through all the defenses. “It really cannot be compared to anything else,” critic Michael Phillips observes. “It's beyond naturalism, it's beyond melodrama, it's beyond everything. It's just coming straight out of her soul.”
Lovers of film will inevitably arrive at Falconetti’s landmark performance at some point or another. It is not until you see it that you understand its significance. “The Passion of Joan of Arc” was her only screen performance. You do not watch it and see her other roles, peaking through. You do not fight off images of her face in different contexts. She exists only here, only as Joan, and she is so good that we can accept her as such without a moment’s hesitation.
Lovers of film will inevitably arrive at Falconetti’s landmark performance at some point or another. It is not until you see it that you understand its significance. “The Passion of Joan of Arc” was her only screen performance. You do not watch it and see her other roles, peaking through. You do not fight off images of her face in different contexts. She exists only here, only as Joan, and she is so good that we can accept her as such without a moment’s hesitation.
Carl Dreyer fashioned his film about the trial and execution of Joan of Arc on the transcripts of the real trial, which still survive today (that would be them in the opening shots of the film). His only alteration was to condense what was actually a series of trials down to one, and chronicle the film on a single day when Joan was brought before an English court, berated, and burned at the stake.
The film covers the events of the trial, but it is not about the trial. Nor is the trial itself even about the trial. The moment that Joan steps into that courtroom, her inquisitors had decided her fate. Their only aim was to coax her into admitting herself that she had been led astray by Satan. Watch as the English judges try to corner Joan with misleading statements and loaded questions, and then watch as she musters the courage to confound them with exactly the right response. It is not because she is smarter or cleverer than they are, indeed she can’t even read. No, the judges simply were not prepared for someone of Joan’s sincerity and piety. They thought they could catch her in a lie, but there was nothing false about her.
The film covers the events of the trial, but it is not about the trial. Nor is the trial itself even about the trial. The moment that Joan steps into that courtroom, her inquisitors had decided her fate. Their only aim was to coax her into admitting herself that she had been led astray by Satan. Watch as the English judges try to corner Joan with misleading statements and loaded questions, and then watch as she musters the courage to confound them with exactly the right response. It is not because she is smarter or cleverer than they are, indeed she can’t even read. No, the judges simply were not prepared for someone of Joan’s sincerity and piety. They thought they could catch her in a lie, but there was nothing false about her.
Dreyer’s film is not concerned with whether or not Joan was actually decreed by God to save France from the English. All that is important is that she believed she was, and that the English had no intention of setting her free. This conflict was settled before it began.
“The Passion of Joan of Arc” has a long a tumultuous history. Dreyer’s original negative, which opened to high praise in 1928, was thought lost to a fire.
Notorious for filming multiple takes of a single shot, he was able to stitch together a shot for shot replica of the film using the second-best take of each shot. But the magic was gone. For many years, this second version was also thought to be lost to fire, but it would soon resurface. And then finally, in one of the most important discoveries in the history of the cinema, a copy of the original cut was found in the closet of a Norwegian mental hospital in 1980. The film was immediately remastered and rereleased and is now considered one of the greatest of all films.
I don’t take movies any more seriously than I do with “The Passion of Joan of Arc”. I approach it with a state of reverie. It has the power to move me in a way that no other film has matched. Films have drawn tears from me before, but never has a tear meant so much.
“The Passion of Joan of Arc” has a long a tumultuous history. Dreyer’s original negative, which opened to high praise in 1928, was thought lost to a fire.
Notorious for filming multiple takes of a single shot, he was able to stitch together a shot for shot replica of the film using the second-best take of each shot. But the magic was gone. For many years, this second version was also thought to be lost to fire, but it would soon resurface. And then finally, in one of the most important discoveries in the history of the cinema, a copy of the original cut was found in the closet of a Norwegian mental hospital in 1980. The film was immediately remastered and rereleased and is now considered one of the greatest of all films.
I don’t take movies any more seriously than I do with “The Passion of Joan of Arc”. I approach it with a state of reverie. It has the power to move me in a way that no other film has matched. Films have drawn tears from me before, but never has a tear meant so much.
Rollan Schott
November 16, 2009
Originally Featured in the Daily Nebraskan
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