An undeniable masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2005)

What Dreyer has achieved with Le Passion De Jeanne D'Arc is nothing short of miraculous. Indeed, it is a miracle in itself that we are able to witness the brilliance of this film, as the original negative of it was destroyed in a fire. A second negative, re-edited by Dreyer from alternate takes was also thought lost to a fire. Then in 1981, after more than half a century, an original danish copy was discovered in a Norwegian mental institution, allowing us to view the film probably very close to its original form.
Dreyer was a master of portraying human emotion, and this film shows his artistry at the peak of his form, elevating him to the great pantheon of auteur's. In a very unorthodox technique, Dreyer refused to cast actors for the roles in this film, and refused to let anyone wear make-up, jewellery or facial enhancing products of any kind. He wanted to show humans in their simplest form, stripping them of all made up beauty, revealing our primitive emotions with true transparency, in order to display the delicate subtleties of our features and emotions. The relentless close ups in the film allow us to observe every flutter, every quivering lip and tear rolling down the cheek, displaying the aesthetic beauty of the human expression, using our faces as a window on our soul. Some silent films can be hard to watch, however like Murnau's masterpiece Sunrise (1927), these detailed human displays of feeling and suffering transcend any message that could possibly be spoken or written, and reveal endless levels of character interpretation.
Although this film goes into a lot of detail on Joan's devotion to Christianity, I don't think that it would take away from the experience for someone without strong beliefs. I am not a particularly religious person, however this film touched me in a way that only few films can. I found the realisation of Joans suffering and emotional torment almost unbearable at times, however the film, although deeply sad, left me feeling so very blessed. Le Passion De Jeanne D'Arc really is one of those transcending films, that proves cinema can be art.