The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
I just finished watching The Passion of Joan of Arc and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. In some ways I kind of hated the film and in other ways I was totally fascinated by it. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a great piece of film making and that Renee Maria Falconetti as Joan is one of the great performances of all time, but I do have lingering feelings of the film that really bothered me.
This was a weird movie to watch in more ways than one. For starters, this is the first truly silent film I've watched in that there is no accompanying musical score at all. With no audio cues to listen to you are forced to focus on only what you see. I had the distinct feeling that I was watching old footage from a documentary rather than a movie and I suppose this was the whole idea. The entirety of the film is based off the court transcripts of Joan of Arc's trial. It is an effective way to make viewers think that they are watching something in real life and not a movie. The decision to not include a musical score is ingenious in that it gives the film its desired effect but to be perfectly honest, the lack of any sound whatsoever really bothered me. Audio, even in silent films, plays such a huge role in movies and to have it just completely missing makes it feel almost incomplete.
As I mentioned before, The Passion of Joan of Arc is based from the transcripts of the trial of Joan. The film plays out like a courtroom drama where the inquisitors drill Joan with questions. I found this a really weird format for a silent film in that we don't catch everything that is being said (obviously) so how are we supposed to get a firm grasp on the drama? The title cards come rather infrequently for the amount of lip movement on screen so I got the uneasy feeling I was missing something. And I didn't feel like the title cards themselves offered much more than basic Q&A. I actually felt like the story was really weak and honestly kind of boring and didn't really convey the kind of emotion and power it could have.
The Passion of Joan of Arc isn't a film for everyone. In fact, I think most people nowadays would hate it and that you have to be really interested in film history or appreciative of the art itself to really enjoy it. As it were, I still don't really know what to make of the film. On one hand I can see where it is truly great, on the other I can see these glaring weaknesses that lessens the overall package. I suppose it is all depends on how affecting Falconetti's performance is in your eyes because if it is as moving for you as many have said it was for them, then you can just ignore everything else and take that performance with you. Unfortunately, I could not.
Grade: B
I just finished watching The Passion of Joan of Arc and I'm not really sure how I feel about it. In some ways I kind of hated the film and in other ways I was totally fascinated by it. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a great piece of film making and that Renee Maria Falconetti as Joan is one of the great performances of all time, but I do have lingering feelings of the film that really bothered me.
This was a weird movie to watch in more ways than one. For starters, this is the first truly silent film I've watched in that there is no accompanying musical score at all. With no audio cues to listen to you are forced to focus on only what you see. I had the distinct feeling that I was watching old footage from a documentary rather than a movie and I suppose this was the whole idea. The entirety of the film is based off the court transcripts of Joan of Arc's trial. It is an effective way to make viewers think that they are watching something in real life and not a movie. The decision to not include a musical score is ingenious in that it gives the film its desired effect but to be perfectly honest, the lack of any sound whatsoever really bothered me. Audio, even in silent films, plays such a huge role in movies and to have it just completely missing makes it feel almost incomplete.
As I mentioned before, The Passion of Joan of Arc is based from the transcripts of the trial of Joan. The film plays out like a courtroom drama where the inquisitors drill Joan with questions. I found this a really weird format for a silent film in that we don't catch everything that is being said (obviously) so how are we supposed to get a firm grasp on the drama? The title cards come rather infrequently for the amount of lip movement on screen so I got the uneasy feeling I was missing something. And I didn't feel like the title cards themselves offered much more than basic Q&A. I actually felt like the story was really weak and honestly kind of boring and didn't really convey the kind of emotion and power it could have.
I will say though that this is one of the most interesting looking films I've ever seen. The cinematography and camera work is just so startling and if you are the type who really appreciates such things then you can almost ignore everything else and just watch the film for that. One of things that you'll immediately notice is the extensive use of close-ups. There is a visual storytelling in the film that is entirely in the faces. At the center of attention is Falconetti whose facial expressions convey such emotional distress and suffering. If there is an shining example of the saying "the eyes are the window to the soul" it would be in her eyes which have a look of such harrowing pain. Everybody mentions Falconetti's great performance, and deservingly so, but how many times do we have to see essentially the same shot of her suffering face over and over? I actually found the faces of her tormentors more interesting. The faces are so distinct and shot at such weird angles and extreme close-ups. I loved the close-ups of the mouths spewing whatever sort of vitriol that is being said. You don't need to know what is being said, you just need to see the anger of the lips to get the idea. Interestingly nobody in the film wore any make up at all, which is why the faces look so natural and unique. Another thing to pay attention to is all the weird angles and cuts used in the film. The best way I can describe it is German expressionism where its almost as if spatial reality has been warped. It's pretty cool to look at.
The Passion of Joan of Arc isn't a film for everyone. In fact, I think most people nowadays would hate it and that you have to be really interested in film history or appreciative of the art itself to really enjoy it. As it were, I still don't really know what to make of the film. On one hand I can see where it is truly great, on the other I can see these glaring weaknesses that lessens the overall package. I suppose it is all depends on how affecting Falconetti's performance is in your eyes because if it is as moving for you as many have said it was for them, then you can just ignore everything else and take that performance with you. Unfortunately, I could not.
Grade: B
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