The passion of Joan of Arc - The face of Renee Maria Falconetti

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2005)

"The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) by Carl Theodor Dreyer is simply one of the greatest films ever - silent or no silent and what considered by many critics, the greatest performance by any actress on the screen. Renee Maria Falconetti, a French stage performer, was persuaded by Dreyer to play the Maid of Orleans even though she had no film experience. From her very first shot, we can understand what a visionary Dreyer was. The director asked the actress to crop her hair and to strip her face of any makeup. Filmed mostly in close-up, the agonized face of Falconetti's Jean, free of all cosmetic artifice, appears more moving and human, and expresses so many emotions that it literally stays in a viewer's soul.
A German designer Herman Warm ("The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "The Tree Lights") constructed the austere sets for the film; the photography of Rudolph Mater also contributed to the films universal power. The composer Richard Einhorn wrote in 1989 the composition "Voices of Light" which is included in VHS that I saw and effectively enhances Dreyer's impressive images. With all that said, I couldn't help quoting Ingmar Bergman who said once, "The human face is the great subject of the cinema. Everything is there". Faces tell the tale of the Maid of Orleans in this movie, and above all, one unforgettable face - that of Renee Falconetti in her only film appearance.