My Favorite Carl Theodor Dreyer Film

I'm always a little torn when a film novice mentions that they've watched and enjoyed "The Passion of Joan of Arc," Carl Theodor Dreyer's silent film based on the trial of the title character. On the one hand, it's wonderful that someone has taken the plunge and managed to connect with a silent. However, it's difficult to recommend other films to move on to from there, because "Joan" is so unlike any other silent film of that era. There are the stunning long close-ups, particularly of actress Renée Jeanne Falconetti, who appears without the thick makeup commonly worn by other silent actresses. There is the naturalism of the performances, eschewing the kind of exaggerated, pantomime-based acting that had been widely adopted. Elaborate sets were built, but Dreyer all but ignored them in favor of his actors' faces, shot with an almost shocking degree of realism. There was nothing else like "The Passion of Joan of Arc" made during the silent era, and precious little since then either.

Dreyer is as much an anomaly in film history as his film. He was a Danish director, not really part of any of the wider movements or schools of the time, though influenced by spending many years working in France's film industry. After the financial failure of "Joan" and "Vampyr," he wouldn't direct another film for over a decade, during which films transitioned to sound and WWII had started. Dreyer's style changed completely for his sound films, predominantly favoring long, static wide shots. Close-ups were rarer, and a greater sense of distance form the audience was maintained. However, the subject matter remained the same. Dreyer was a deeply religious artist, and all of his work is focused on spiritual and existential crises. Many of his later films can be characterized as morality plays, examining the nature of faith and doubt. Dreyer never achieved much commercial success because his films were so heavy and austere, but he was beloved and remembered by critics, and influenced many other directors, notably fellow Scandinavians Ingmar Bergman and Lars Von Trier.

"The Passion of Joan of Arc" remains the most accessible of Dreyer's films, because it was driven by stunning visuals instead of dialogue, and based on a well-remembered historical event. Transcripts of the actual trial and interrogations of Joan served as the basis of the script. The film is also notable for containing the sole cinematic lead performance of Renée Jeanne Falconetti (sometimes credited as Maria Falconetti). She was a respected French stage actress, and the story goes that Dreyer was so demanding of her, and made the filming experience so unpleasant, that Falconetti suffered a mental breakdown at the end of production, and declined ever appearing in a film again. As a result, Dreyer unfairly acquired a reputation for being a tyrant and a sadist. However, his film seemed to back up these claims, because there was never a more heartrending portrait of human suffering as Falconetti's Joan, subjected to countless inquisitions and torments before finally being executed in the final scenes. Often, her face is the only thing in the frame, and it is impossible to escape her haunting gaze.

At the time of release the film was hailed as a masterpiece, but controversy was already swirling around "Joan" for its subject matter and its positioning of religious authorities as villains. The British banned it for its unflattering portrayal of English solders. The French government and the Catholic Church both made significant censorship cuts, without Dreyer's input. The original negative and a reconstructed second version with alternate footage were both lost in fires in subsequent years. Though widely recognized as a classic, it became very difficult to find the film, adding to its mystique. It was only in 1981, long after Dreyer's death, that a print of the original unedited version was found in the janitor's closet of a Norwegian mental hospital, and a full restoration was done. It's difficult to resist drawing parallels to the story of Joan herself.

Everything about "The Passion of Joan of Arc" is unlikely, from its director to its star to its miraculous recovery from obscurity. Perhaps that's why it remains such a unique experience that is so different from its contemporaries. After 85 years "Joan" still has so much emotional power, losing no impact with age. Perhaps this is because it came from a director who engaged with spirituality so wholeheartedly, and because it came from a era when the church was a far stronger force in the world, and the story resonated more deeply. Dreyer's film was released only eight years after Joan of Arc was declared a saint, and provides a good reminder of why she was elevated. And it's also a reminder of the power of film, silent or otherwise, to move and to transcend and to endure.
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