The Passion of Joan of Arc is a 1928 silent film, first filmed in France. It is based on actual accounts of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film takes place at the end of Joan’s life when she was held captive and put on trial in England. It ends with her execution. The film is a historically accurate account. The director spent time researching Joan of Arc and the transcripts of her trial before making the film. The attention to detail and efforts made to portray the events in a realistic and accurate manner are remarkable. This film was meant as a tribute to Joan of Arc and her life.
The film begins at the end of the Hundred Years war. It opens with Joan’s capture near Compiegne. She is taken to Rouen, Normandy where they is to stand trial for heresy. The trial is to be held by French clergy who are loyal to the English cause. On May 30, 1431, the judges try to make Joan discredit herself in court and renounce the claim that she was on a mission from God. The plan backfires and she ends up gaining secret supporters who dare not voice their opinion. Some actually believe she is a saint. The court then then tries to deceive her, reading a supposed letter from King Charles. That too fails. She is taken to the torture chamber. She is threatened with burning at the stake, which coerces her to sign a confessions. She later withdraws her confession and is burned at the stake.
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"Movie Analysis: “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” 1928".
This version of the film is a condensed version of the actual trial. The actual trial of Joan of Arc took 29 interrogations and 18 months (Champion, 1932). There is a considerable amount of documentation on the trial available from primary sources. Dreyer condenses these details into one scene. Although this could be considered to harm the accuracy of the film, it was done to control the film’s length. Not all of the details in the trial were important to the outcome. Dreyer extracted the instances that represented the turning points in the trial. This make the details of the trial much more palatable to the average viewer.
This was a silent film. Therefore, cinematography played a major role in the ability to portray the events and create the social context and emotions of the film. Dreyer wanted to show the horror of what was done to Joan. To accomplish this, he chose camera angles that looked up towards the face of Joan of Arc, creating a foreshortened effect. The set is an accurate representation of a castle in Rouen. The set added to the unnatural angles and created a feeling of tension. Shots where the camera was tilted at an angle were used frequently. This was done to create a sense of dreamlike or surreal quality, a reflection on the emotions that were being felt by Joan as the nightmare unfolded. The edges of the film fade to highlight the scene. The background is plan for most of the shots, placing the focus on the actor’s face. The film was third person.
The film was made to honor the memory of Joan of Arc, due to her popularity as an icon in France. There is no language spoken by the characters, but an occasional subtitle frame to fill in what is not apparent to the audience. The actress who portrayed Joan of Arc did an excellent job of showing how her strength was worn down by her tormentors. By the end of the film it becomes apparent that Joan would not have ever received a fair trial and that this was even more true because she was a female. She broke the social rules, including those that forbid a woman from challenging the power and the authority of the males in the religious order. It was a show of power by the clergy as much as a military tactic. Joan would have been burned to set an example for “any other woman” who thought of doing something like this.
The soundtrack of the film is haunting, crazy sounds with strange organ tones and occasional screams and whimper of women. It has many surprising rises in tempo, with drums and bells set to create an unsettling dramatic tension. It rivals any modern soundtrack in its ability to create tension and drama. Listening to the soundtrack without the imagery and the story would be disturbing. The effect of the sound and the imagery made this early historical drama into a psychological experience for the audience. Dreyer was very effective in portraying the horror of the story and evoking empathy for Joan.
The most haunting feature of the film is Joan’s eyes. At the beginning of the film she is strong and defiant. Her hair is neatly kept and she stands tall. By the end of the film, the general audience sees a woman who is slowly being beaten down. As verdicts are read. Joan’s eyes are wide with shock. Her tormentors show hostile faces and arrogance. The evilness of the clergy is demonstrated by their chuckling and grins as she is tortured. Dreyer managed to evoke the emotions of the audience and make them sympathetic to Joan, meanwhile making them loath her executioners.
The audience of the film is the general audience. It was intended for a French audience, first being released in French and later translated to an English audience. Dreyer had to make certain that the impression of the characters was correct for the French audience who saw Joan as a hero. His portrayals was in accordance to the beliefs and general attitude of the intended audience.
This film came at a time when women were beginning to gain power in the world. Women’ suffrage had been won in the United States, but women in other parts of the world were still in the midst of the struggle. This was a decidedly feminist film for the time. It portrayed the male characters as evil and domineering. It showed the strength of Joan as she faced her tormentors. Portrayal of a strong female lead and decidedly weaker male characters is an unusual take on gender roles during this era. Even though the males “won” in the end by burning her, they did not win the hearts of the people, as Dreyer demonstrates with the riot in the end.
- Champion, Pierre. “The Trial of Jeanne D’Arc.” Gotham House, Inc. 1932. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/joanofarc-trial.asp
