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Film / The Passion of Joan of Arc

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The Passion of Joan of Arc is a classic French silent film from 1928, directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Generally regarded as one of the greatest films ever made (to the point of being named the ninth greatest film of all time in the 2012 Sight & Sound Critics' Poll), as well as considered to have one of the greatest filmed performances ever, given by Maria Falconetti in the title role.note 

In 1431, Joan of Arc is put on trial by the English. They attempt to get her to back down from her claims of holy visions. She refuses and is eventually burned at the stake. The film's plotline is highly conventional, being adapted straight from the actual records of Joan of Arc's trial and essentially serving as a highly condensed version of the real event. The film's real strengths come in the form of Dreyer's excellent direction, Falconetti's performance, and the fact that you'll barely be able to see either of those things through all of your tears.

Famously, this film (specifically, a print of Dreyer's final cut) survived only due to one single copy, which was found in a closet in a Norwegian insane asylum. How strange is that?


This film provides examples of:

  • Artistic License – History: It is clear that Dreyer did a lot of research on Joan of Arc's trial, even basing the script on the original trial transcripts. However, in real life, there was no rioting after the burning of Joan of Arc. That said, the words that incite the riot, "You have burned a saint!", are derived from John Tressart, the secretary to King Henry VI. Tressart, after watching the execution, left the scene weeping and full of remorse, and he exclaimed: "We are all lost; we have burned a saint!"
  • Beauty Equals Goodness: Joan is very pretty in an innocent sort of way, while her tormentors are often downright repulsive.
  • Being Good Sucks: Boy, does it ever.
  • Big Bad: The Bishop of Beauvais, Hanging Judge of Joan's trial.
  • Book Dumb: Joan can't read, and she needs help to sign her "confession." She's also uneducated in theological minutia, which, in both real life and the film, is what leads to her conviction.
  • Boyish Short Hair: Joan has her hair cut short. It then gets cropped to stubble later on.
  • Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie: Joan pleads for her body to be buried on consecrated ground. In real life, her ashes were thrown in a river.
  • Burn the Witch!: Joan's ultimate fate.
  • Break the Cutie: Joan is put through the wringer throughout the entirety of the trial, from facing trumped-up charges of heresy to her eventual burning at the stake.
  • Corrupt Church: The ecclesiastical court in Rouen, headed by Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais, is not so much interested in verifying or denying the charges of heresy against Joan of Arc as trying to get her convicted of said charges. That said, a couple of priests who are a part of the court take a more compassionate approach to Joan.
  • Disturbed Doves: Joan watches the birds fly off from the church roof as she is being burned.
  • Doomed Moral Victor: Joan of Arc, burned at the stake. That said, she has clearly won the PR battle, seeing as how a peasant in the crowd screams "You have burned a saint!", followed by a riot. And, of course, everyone watching the movie would have known that not all that long after Joan was executed, the English were driven out of France for good. Further, a rehabilitation trial investigated the original trial to see if it was dealt out justly and in accordance with ecclesiastical laws; it concluded that the original trial was invalid due to improper procedures, deceit, and fraud, and it nullified Joan's sentence.
  • Dutch Angle: Used by Dreyer several times in the film, usually to give the judges a more sinister appearance.
  • Eye Take: At several points Joan's eyes widen like this during trial as a sign of surprise or horror.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Joan's attitude towards being burned.
  • Fainting: Joan faints when shown the brutal torture instruments intended to extract her confession.
  • Foregone Conclusion: Just about anyone who at least has a passing familiarity with Joan of Arc's life will know exactly how it'll end for her.
  • Good Cop/Bad Cop: In this case, good monk/bad monk, used in her interrogation.
  • Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Joan has shiny, beautiful gray eyes throughout the entire film.
  • Good Is Impotent: Joan is powerless to prevent her fate throughout the film.
  • Good Shepherd: For a given definition of "good" as they are a part of the court in Rouen, but a couple of priests are more compassionate towards Joan of Arc and try to help her throughout the trial.
  • The Hero Dies: Joan is burned at the stake.
  • High-Pressure Blood: A fountain of blood coming from the puncture wound on Joan's arm. It was a real wound, though the arm belonged to a stand-in and not Maria Falconetti.
  • Jeanne d'Archétype: Joan of Arc is the Ur-Example, but this film, by itself, does not show the trope. Instead, it's more like a Deconstruction Played for Drama — after breaking the laws of man in the name of God, the brilliant and brave visionary girl is captured by the enemy, nearly broken by interrogation, and finally, brutally executed.
  • Kangaroo Court: The ecclesiastical court in Rouen, which is in league with the English, is only interested in finding something that would justify giving Joan of Arc a guilty verdict, not in seeing if the charges of heresy against her are true. In real life, a rehabilitation trial confirmed that the verdict was dealt out unjustly, and the entire trial flew in the face of ecclesiastical laws.
  • Kill the Cutie: Joan's death.
  • The Late Middle Ages
  • Lima Syndrome: Not enough to save Joan's life though.
  • Locked in the Dungeon: Joan's imprisonment.
  • Messianic Archetype: The movie is The Passion of Joan of Arc for a reason. Many scenes in the film echo The Bible, from questioning by religious authorities to the English soldiers dressing Joan in a "thorny crown."
  • Mission from God: What Joan believes herself to be on.
  • Not So Stoic: Even one of the guards weeps to see Joan burned.
  • Ominous Latin Chanting: Richard Einhorn's "Voices of Light" soundtrack, composed for the movie in 1985 and often played with it in later showings (and included on home video releases) is nothing but Ominous Latin Chanting from beginning to end.
  • Passion Play: A play on this, focusing on the death of Joan of Arc instead of Jesus.
  • Public Execution: Which quickly leads to full-scale rioting.
  • Prayer Pose: Joan, upon receiving communion.
  • Prone to Tears: Joan herself. She cries virtually every time she's given a closeup.
  • Security Cling: Not quite a cling, but Joan tries to hold the hand of a priest while suffering a fever. He pulls it away.
  • Shamed by a Mob: The people witnessing Joan's execution weep in sympathy, and a riot breaks out when one shouts "You have burned a saint!"
  • Shown Their Work: The dialogue is all the actual court records of what Joan of Arc is known to have said at her trial.
  • Single Tear: One of the monks cries a single tear when Joan recants her confession, as he knows it will lead to her death.
  • Spiteful Spit: One of the church officials spits on Joan during her trial.
  • Sweet Polly Oliver: Joan herself, who wears men's clothes, though it is not so much to pass as a man as for practical reasons. The church court grills her about it.
  • Tears of Fear: Nearly constant on the part of Joan during the movie.
  • Tears of Remorse: Joan, after signing her confession, which she then recants.
  • Traumatic Haircut: Joan's hair is cropped to stubble on-camera. It counts as a real-life example, too, as Falconetti apparently begged Dreyer not to have to do it.
  • Villain Respect: By the end, it is clear that some of the clergy are rather impressed with her courage and are feeling at least some sympathy for her.
  • Waif Prophet: Joan herself.
  • The X of Y: The Passion of Joan of Arc
  • You Can't Go Home Again: It's not stated in the dialogue — it's all in Joan's face when the priest asks her who taught her how to say her prayers, and she answers, "My mother."

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