Dreyer's "Passion" Has Rarely Been Equalled On Film...

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2007)

One of the single greatest performances in film history came from Carl Dreyer's amazingly powerful THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC. Renee Falconetti, in the only performance she ever committed to film, is just about as flawless as an actress can be as the persecuted French woman who is sentenced to burn on the stake, accused of witchcraft, after a highly unjust trial.
Dreyer's film was a huge gamble at the time and he pulled it off astoundingly. It is amazing that the director dared to film much of the the entire first-half in close-ups of Falconetti's face as she stands trial. Falconetti's facial expressions and tragic, yet hopeful eyes beautifully transcend silent cinema. Although the first-half of the film takes place in essentially one room and involves the audience essentially watching the thoughts and reaction of one actor, it is a compelling sequence.
The second half of the film focuses on Falconetti's resignation and preparation for her fate. Dreyer burns stark, profound silent images into the viewer's head and leaves them etched in the memory forever as Falconetti's dignity is corroded by her torture, head shaving and eventual burning.
Dreyer, in a sense, takes a very minimalist approach to filming THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1927) that seems to echo the German Expressionist movement (Dreyer was Danish). He instead chooses to frame the entire film around Falconetti's performance-as bare as the sets may be, her bare-boned performance towers above everything else.
It is an outstanding work of cinema and one that all cinema purists should see. However, it is painful to watch at times- not because it is a 110 minute silent film with minimal inter-titles and no extravagance, but because of the painful journey we witness Falconetti go on. The final look in her eyes as the flames engulf her on the stake is forever haunting.