Passion is the correct word.

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2003)

The Passion of Joan of Arc strikes me right away as a film with so much to say that it is hard to contain on film alone. Let me explain. The pure, raw emotions expressed by Maria Falconetti as Joan burst off the screen. Her performance was the highlight of the film for me. I never would have expected to see so many different shades of terror, loss, sadness, etc. expressed so expertly. She just drew me in. The film style of Carl Dreyer also makes this picture stand out among others of the time and even now. Notice how we never see a wide establishing shot. Instead, Dreyer aggressively chose to shoot the whole thing with medium shots to extreme close-ups. This technique, combined with a fair amount of camera subjectivity creates for the viewer a sense of intimacy with Joan. At least it did for me. I couldn't help but sympathize with her if not theologically, then purely visually. It is a terrifying thing to face death, but it is also an interesting twist for this story that Joan knows no matter what anyone says, that she is on the right side. To be able to convey such inner turmoil in a character is a fantastic achievement. Furthermore, the director shot her so well, that her performance needed to be as excellent as it was. The viewer was going to get close to Joan and feel her pain. That was a directorial decision, it was up to Joan to draw us closer. Also of note is the blatant reference to the `Odessa Steps' scene in Eisenstein's Potemkin (1925). Dreyer's use of montage is appropriate and skillfully done. However, I was a bit disappointed to see a repetition of what such a popular director had just done. Overall, this film seems to me to be a great example of film as art. Though visually stunning, the film's only downfall is that it may have been too long. I feel the story could have been portrayed just as well in say, 30 minutes. Something doesn't have to take an hour and a half to move us.