A Masterpiece by the Act of Despair

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2020)

Stunning in its power, importants, scenography and acting. Carl Theodor Dreyer's silent masterpiece from 1928, scorches a hole in the screen with Maria Falconetti's embodiment of the spiritual anguish worthy of a medieval Pietà. The martyrdom of Joan of Arc is represented in a series of close-ups with eyes widening and miraculously proficient in dropping single tears, her Joan is dazed yet resolute. Which the pain is not only understood by the audience but also experienced.