Beautifully shot work in the art of facial expression

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2007)

This movie is definitely worthy of appreciation in terms of the novelty of its movie making technique of its time. I would say it is a difficult movie to make since there is really not much to a story, so Dreyer had to refer to camera angles and closed up shots to evoke emotion.
Facial expression of the actors were essential to make it work. Maria Falconetti did a fantastic job in that regard. Even nowadays, I don't think many movies use the camera technique used in this movie. Because of the effectiveness, much of the movie is quite self-explanatory.
Although I do appreciate of its artistic quality and like it very much, it is still not one of my top favorite since I am more driven by the literary side of a movie than the photographic side.
I saw it only once at this time and much effort were exerted doing so because I wanted to pay close attention to the detail, especially for a silent film in the form of expressiveness instead of storytelling. I'm sure there is strong literary side to it as well. I can feel there are a lot more to this movie than I saw and that requires a multiple viewing, except that I am not ready for a second viewing yet. Still, a must see for at least once.