Movie Review: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) co-written and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer

The popular saint and martyr, Joan of Arc (played by Renee Falconetti), is presented in this film by showing her hardest battle--the trial conducted by English clergy and soldiers that led to her burning at the stake. The movie eschews grand sets and costumes, ignoring any sense of period detail or visual historicity. The focus is entirely on Joan, stripped of her armor, her weapons, her freedom. She faces intellectual superiors who try to trip her up or to get her to confess to wrongdoing. Her simple, unlettered faith carries her through the various horrors. When initial questioning fails to get the results the judges want, they bring her to a torture chamber in hopes her fear will overcome her belief in God's revelations to her. The finally resort to taking her to the town square where she will be burned to death. She is convinced to abjure at the sight of execution, though she recants afterward. The English have her now, leading her off to her death as a heretic. The film ends with a riot by the local French people that is barely quelled by the English soldiers.

The film is very stark and unromantic. Most of the camera shots are close-ups of Joan or her accusers. Often the camera pans along a line of people, showing various reactions and attitudes. Props and sets are left to a minimum. The actors wear no make-up and have costumes that could have been worn a hundred years ago or a thousand (Joan was executed in 1431). The only exception is the soldiers' uniforms which are definitely reminiscent of World War I garb, especially the shallow-bowl metal helmets. Since this film is silent, the actors rely on facial expressions more than gestures. Viewers often don't need title cards to get what people are saying. The overall effect is to humanize people who could so easily be shown as exaggerated caricatures. 

Certainly the film gives all its sympathy to Joan and her plight. Falconetti's performance starts as nothing more than wide-eyed terror but tracks along a great emotional range. She has moments of hope, anguish, comfort, and despair. The trial is condensed into one day but hits the famous questions and shows her integrity in responding to her questioners. They are mostly pro-English and thus anti-Joan, who was leading the French troops to victory. A handful are genuinely sympathetic to Joan though they do not have enough power and influence to save her. They do offer her some solace. She ultimately wins the day paradoxically through her death at the stake, an act that doesn't bolster English confidence or squash French resolve. She is shown as a great hero and thoroughly human.

The movie is available from Criterion with a score featuring choral music by Anonymous 4 which was inspired by the movie but not written specifically to sync with the movie. Even so, the DVD creators have done a good job wedding the two.

Highly recommended.