Time has been good to The Passion of Joan of Arc. Although silent and filmed in black and white, it seems almost contemporary because of its timeless historical subject, and Dreyer's disregard for dramatic filmmaking techniques of the era.

None of the actors wore makeup, and were filmed in extreme closeup under harsh lighting conditions. The kindly priests are better looking than the treacherous and bullying ones, who have enormous creases and pockmarks on their aged faces. But even St. Joan, who died while yet a teenager, is plain, especially with her masculine dress and hairstyle.

The film does not attempt to put Joan of Arc's life into perspective. It is assumed that the viewer knows her background, emerging from a peasant upbringing to becoming essentially a field general for the French forces loyal to King Charles VII.

Naturally, England and France have differing interpretations over Joan of Arc. For England, the hero of the Hundred Years War is Henry V, who began the conflict with a conquest of much of France. Shakespeare glorified Henry V in the play of the same name, while vilifying Joan of Arc as a witch in his "Henry VI". In France, Joan has a national holiday. Although Dreyer was from Denmark, The Passion of Joan of Arc was a French production, thus portraying her as a devout patriot.

Joan of Arc was instrumental in chasing the English out of France, although Paris was still held by Burgundians at the time of her death. Technically, both Henry V and Joan of Arc were warmongers who caused the deaths of thousands of people in the name of territorial expansion for their respective governments.

Joan of Arc was eventually captured by the pro-English French, who held her as a prisoner for some time before she finally was put on trial. This is where the film takes up her story. Director Carl Theodore Dreyer time compresses her lengthy interrogations into a single afternoon, no doubt confusing the viewer when Joan of Arc rises from her sickbed (the final sacraments were even to be performed) as if waking from a nap.

Dreyer is merciless in the punishment that he inflicts on Joan, who is emotionally alone and surrounded by hostile clerics. Joan, memorably portrayed by Maria Falconetti, is frequently brought to tears from her piety and the cruelty of the clergy. The trial and execution of Joan of Arc has parallels with that of Jesus.

In fact, Joan tells her questioners (the script benefits from a surviving transcript of the trial) that she is a daughter of God, just as Jesus was the son of God. Of course, this was blasphemy to the Catholic Church of the era. Nonetheless, Pope Benedict XV would canonize Joan as a saint in 1920.

For many years, the original print of The Passion of Joan of Arc was presumed lost in a fire. Severely edited versions existed, that had been cut first by censors, and then to correspond to an inane version with added dialogue. Miraculously, a nearly pristine copy of an original print was found in a Scandinavian mental institution in 1981. It was forwarded to a film museum, where, unlabeled, it sat unwatched for another few years.

The intertitles were re-translated back into French. The movie was finally restored and re-distributed in 1985, with a new Richard Einhorn "Voices of Light" soundtrack. Since the score is not original to the movie, I watched the film without it.

The Passion of Joan of Arc is often said to be the only film role for its lead, Maria Falconetti. However, imdb.com also credits her with La Comtesse de Somerive (1917), which apparently has not survived. Falconetti was an experienced stage actress, and not an amateur.

One of the reasons that she may not have had another role is that the film was not a box office success, as was generally the case for most films of Dreyer's off and on, five decade career. The Passion of Joan of Arc is a classic example of film as art rather than entertainment. There's nothing funny, warm, or uplifting here, although the viewer is in great sympathy with Joan's suffering. (72/100)

email me at koller@filmsgraded.com


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older