Post by klep on Jul 1, 2019 6:50:46 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/1: The Passion of Joan of Arc
1920s WEEK!
Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc is a singular film. It doesn't follow conventional rules of editing in terms of establishing spatial geometry and relationships. It never gives you a long shot or an establishing shot. It uses closeups the way Tom Hooper thinks he's using closeups. I've never seen a film quite like it, and I'm not sure there's another one that is. It's such a departure from most films even in this early era of innovation and discovery that if you told me it was divinely inspired - a work sent by God to inspire the faithful - I might believe you. After all, Dreyer had an actual script before he threw it out to focus entirely on the minutes of Joan of Arc's trial.
Dreyer, as I mentioned, films most of the movie in close-up - frequently extreme close-up. His actors are deglamorized, stripped of makeup and artifice. The judges and soldiers are lit harshly, their every pore and imperfection evident for all to see. It erases any claim to divinity or purity they might have, helping to expose their corruption and hypocrisy as they plot against and manipulate their defendant. Joan of Arc (Maria Falconetti) on the other hand is lit more softly, making her seem humble in her deglamorized state - a model of piety and purity in stark contrast to those around her.
By keeping the plot focus as tight as his camera focus, Dreyer is able to put us firmly in Joan of Arc's headspace as she goes through her trial and martyrdom. We are given no other perspectives except as a response to Joan of Arc's words or actions. She is in almost every scene, with only brief departures to establish necessary context (or the immediate aftermath of her execution). The result is a testament to her piety and resolve.
But for all the great choices Dreyer made, the best was in casting Maria Falconetti. The Passion of Joan of Arc is the only film she ever did, and in it she delivered one of the greatest - if not the greatest - performances of all time. She is a revelation, her face capturing emotions both open & powerful and small & subtle - Joan of Arc's abject terror in the face of the stake, her slight sneer of contempt for the men who place themselves above her as though they have some secret knowledge of God. Falconetti's big, expressive eyes grant her an incredible intensity, and her mastery of her role's emotional range is incredible. Joan of Arc is at once an uneducated, naïve young woman and a sage old soul, understanding of the hearts of men. Her faith in her God and her King is unshakeable, but her faith in the piety of the judges before her is less so. Falconetti captures all of this not with an ease, but with the hard work that makes it seem entirely natural.
Dreyer somehow knew that the best way to tell Joan of Arc's story was to focus on these, the final moments of her life. And Falconetti uncannily channeled the pure love and devotion her character had for her Lord as well as her all-too human vulnerabilities. In a medium barely three decades old, they together created something truly magnificent. A testament to the power of cinema, and a way to get closer to God.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/8: Tokyo Story
UNSEEN CLASSICS WEEK!
Yasujirô Ozu's slice-of-life drama about a family in Tokyo is our pick for Unseen Classics Week! Number three on Sight & Sound's poll of the greatest films of all time, we're surely in for a treat. Come join our discussion next week of one of the great works of cinema! Tokyo Story is available on the Criterion Channel and for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 7/2: Men In Black: International
This edition of the podcast concludes with the latest installment in the Men In Black franchise. Join us Wednesday for our discussion! Men In Black: International is still in theaters.
1920s WEEK!
Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc is a singular film. It doesn't follow conventional rules of editing in terms of establishing spatial geometry and relationships. It never gives you a long shot or an establishing shot. It uses closeups the way Tom Hooper thinks he's using closeups. I've never seen a film quite like it, and I'm not sure there's another one that is. It's such a departure from most films even in this early era of innovation and discovery that if you told me it was divinely inspired - a work sent by God to inspire the faithful - I might believe you. After all, Dreyer had an actual script before he threw it out to focus entirely on the minutes of Joan of Arc's trial.
Dreyer, as I mentioned, films most of the movie in close-up - frequently extreme close-up. His actors are deglamorized, stripped of makeup and artifice. The judges and soldiers are lit harshly, their every pore and imperfection evident for all to see. It erases any claim to divinity or purity they might have, helping to expose their corruption and hypocrisy as they plot against and manipulate their defendant. Joan of Arc (Maria Falconetti) on the other hand is lit more softly, making her seem humble in her deglamorized state - a model of piety and purity in stark contrast to those around her.
By keeping the plot focus as tight as his camera focus, Dreyer is able to put us firmly in Joan of Arc's headspace as she goes through her trial and martyrdom. We are given no other perspectives except as a response to Joan of Arc's words or actions. She is in almost every scene, with only brief departures to establish necessary context (or the immediate aftermath of her execution). The result is a testament to her piety and resolve.
But for all the great choices Dreyer made, the best was in casting Maria Falconetti. The Passion of Joan of Arc is the only film she ever did, and in it she delivered one of the greatest - if not the greatest - performances of all time. She is a revelation, her face capturing emotions both open & powerful and small & subtle - Joan of Arc's abject terror in the face of the stake, her slight sneer of contempt for the men who place themselves above her as though they have some secret knowledge of God. Falconetti's big, expressive eyes grant her an incredible intensity, and her mastery of her role's emotional range is incredible. Joan of Arc is at once an uneducated, naïve young woman and a sage old soul, understanding of the hearts of men. Her faith in her God and her King is unshakeable, but her faith in the piety of the judges before her is less so. Falconetti captures all of this not with an ease, but with the hard work that makes it seem entirely natural.
Dreyer somehow knew that the best way to tell Joan of Arc's story was to focus on these, the final moments of her life. And Falconetti uncannily channeled the pure love and devotion her character had for her Lord as well as her all-too human vulnerabilities. In a medium barely three decades old, they together created something truly magnificent. A testament to the power of cinema, and a way to get closer to God.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 7/8: Tokyo Story
UNSEEN CLASSICS WEEK!
Yasujirô Ozu's slice-of-life drama about a family in Tokyo is our pick for Unseen Classics Week! Number three on Sight & Sound's poll of the greatest films of all time, we're surely in for a treat. Come join our discussion next week of one of the great works of cinema! Tokyo Story is available on the Criterion Channel and for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 7/2: Men In Black: International
This edition of the podcast concludes with the latest installment in the Men In Black franchise. Join us Wednesday for our discussion! Men In Black: International is still in theaters.