Dreyer's startling and innovative camerawork in The Passion of Joan of Arc creates visual imbalance. The courtroom scene recreates the abusive atmosphere of the inquisition by filming the oppressive judges upward, which contrast with the images of a victimized Jeanne filmed downward. The odd angle shots of the street performers, prison guards, and judges further exaggerate their physical features, creating a sense of the grotesque - in essence, an external manifestation of their innate inhumanity. All rights reserved. It is 1623, Denmark, a hundred years after the Protestant reformation, and religious tide has swung from the sale of indulgences to theological fanaticism.
Witchcraft trials occur with certain frequency, and any aberrant behavior is cause for denunciation.
Years earlier, Anne's mother had similarly been accused of witchcraft, but was spared from the stake by Absalon's false testament in a reprehensible act designed to win Anne's affection. But despite threats to reveal his deception to the religious court, Absalon remains silent. One evening, during a powerful storm, Absalon is called away to perform last rites for the terminally ill Laurentius. While awaiting his return, Anne admits to Martin her wish for her husband's death, and, in declaring her tainted thoughts, opens herself to denunciation. The dour countenance of Absalon and Meret, wearing dark, stiff-collared clothing sharply contrast against Martin and Anne's softer, accessible persona.