What do most of us know about Joan of Arc? Maybe this: That in 1429, at age 17, she was at the forefront of French armies battling English intruders? Or that two years later, she was accused of heresy and, at age 19, burned at the stake? What went wrong?
To fully appreciate The Passion of Joan of Arc, you should read up a bit on this fascinating historical figure. At least know that she claimed she was visited by the archangel Michael, who bestowed on her a mission from God to help France drive out the English interlopers and see Charles VII crowned as the legitimate King of France. This remarkable young woman wrangled an audience with Charles, who found her so inspiring that he had her dressed in men’s clothes and mix with the troops. Her enthusiasm and her encouragement to the soldiers is credited as a factor in French victories that did in fact lead to Charles’s crowning.
But … what went wrong indeed. She was captured by the British and put on trial for heresy by French clergy aligned with the English cause.
If I’ve got this mostly right in spirit, you’re now ready to experience this classic. As the film explains at its onset, a meticulous record of Joan’s trial exists, and the movie’s chief goal is to show you how this devout but naïve peasant teenager was interrogated and tempted to renounce her claims, but eventually chose death rather than forsake her calling.
This silent classic is famous for its vivid black and white cinematography and director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s decision to portray the story primarily in extreme closeups, particularly of Joan herself (Maria Falconetti). The clergymen’s scowls of derision and anger as their questions fail to entrap her. Joan’s wide-eyed expressions of shock, disbelief, and despair throughout the ordeal. The downcast gazes of the few clergy sympathetic to her cause, fretting on the periphery, and shouted down if they dared offer her advice or comfort.
With a little historical background, you can see that the clergy’s motivation was not religious but political, to undermine Louis’s legitimacy as King by persuading Joan to recant her belief that God was on Charles’s side. But this is not a modern courtroom drama full of snappy, back-and-forth repartee. At first, the chief interrogator tests different ways to entice Joan into making admissions that would condemn her of heresy. As the clergy try to frame questions to entrap her, the camera follows them as one priest whispers in another’s ear, and the idea travels round the room to reach the principal interrogator. When their relentless questions can’t convince Joan to abjure her belief in her mission from God, they threaten her with torture. And finally the threats escalate to death by burning at the stake.
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Now I know this: The Passion of Joan of Arc is a must-see for any student of cinema history. Director Dreyer’s approach to the storytelling, and Falconetti’s extraordinary performance as Joan, were riveting at the time and remain so today. As the clergy manipulate the illiterate girl and bring her to the edge of acquiescence with threats of torture and death by burning, you feel the depth of her hopelessness.
But this I also know: Nearly a century later, modern movie-goers will find the extreme closeups, especially the considerable time devoted to Falconetti’s impassioned expressions, go well beyond the point where we grasp her anguish. After dozens and dozens of shots, it becomes exhausting to parse her face for any additional nuances of meaning.
Modern audiences, used to thinking silent movies are marred by choppy editing and minimalistic sets, will find the cinematography and stagecraft surprising and mesmerizing. But the experience is still one that we come away admiring more than enjoying.