Masterful Photography!

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2010)

Starting with Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible," I began to be comfortable with these early films and their incredible focus on faces. This is like an 80 minute slide show, using some of the most wonderful expressiveness I have ever seen. I know this could be boring to some, but even in shots that seem repetitious, there are subtle differences that express the absolute summit of emotion. This story has been done so many times and it usually falls on the hopes of the character to express, usually in words, faith. Here Joan is so human and yet so saintly. She is devoted to her faith but also afraid. We need to remember that this person came from humble beginnings, unable to even read. Perhaps she was delusional. Personally, I have trouble with any of this, but she certainly could not be more heroic. When she recants her confession, she does so in the shadow of the stake. I was intrigued by the soldiers and the villagers at the end. Did this really happen? I don't recall this in other treatments though I may have forgotten. It is also wonderful that this film was restored. It is crisp and bright and needs to be to show every wrinkle of its characters.