It's not entirely accurate to call The Passion of Joan of Arc a lost film; versions of it have been around since it premiered in Copenhagen on April 21, 1928. Director Carl Theodor Dreyer's original cut is what was lost, and the fact it was found at all is, ironically, a miracle worthy of a saint. French production company Société Générale de Films invited Dreyer to make a film with them in 1926, and eventually settled on Jeanne d'Arc, whose sainthood had only been declared in 1920, as the basis for it. The problem was that Dreyer was a Dane, and, as such, some French nationalists derided the choice as not being appropriate, even delaying the French premiere on the strength of their outcry.
Further delays were made due to the archbishop of Paris having his own thoughts on the film, demanding several cuts, and then again by government censors, who excised it even more extensively. At long last, the film hit Parisian theaters in October 1928, only for a fire on December 6th of the same year, which consumed the labs of Berlin's Ufa studio, destroying the original negative. Dreyer did, however, have enough outtakes to create a second version, and created a new negative that hewed very closely to the original. But another fire, this time at the labs of G.M. de Boulogne-Billancourt, destroyed the second negative in 1929.
French film historian Joseph-Marie Lo Duca found a copy of Dreyer's second version in 1951. It wouldn't be a fire that destroyed that version, but Lo Duca himself. He replaced intertitles with subtitles where he could, and placed text on images of stained-glass windows and church pews where he couldn't. It was an abomination of Dreyer's original vision, but for three decades it was all that was available. Then, in 1981, a janitor, emptying a closet in a Norwegian mental institution, found several film canisters, which were forwarded to the Norwegian Film Institute. When it was discovered that one of the films was the original cut of The Passion of Joan of Arc, it was immediately preserved, and new negatives were created from it. Finally, in 2015, one of those negatives was scanned, creating a fully restored Digital Cinema Package of the film, allowing Dreyer's original, uncut vision to be seen in all its glory once again (per Janus Films).
Renée Jeanne Falconetti is Silently Brilliant in 'The Passion of Joan of Arc'
The Passion of Joan of Arc is an account of the trial, if you can call it that, and the execution, which you can, of Joan of Arc. It's based on the actual record of the trial, with Dreyer meticulously researching the transcripts and working with historian Pierre Champion to capture the world beyond the recorded words: how the trial would have played out, Joan's responses, costuming, and so on. From a filmmaking point of view, the film is astounding, with Dreyer's pioneering close-ups fostering an emotional connection, bringing humanity into an event in history, as opposed to a straight retelling. His use of angles and framing is masterful, with the judges often looking up as they close in with their accusations.
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But make no mistake: The Passion of Joan of Arc earns its accolades from the strength of Falconetti. 35 at the time, Falconetti plays the 19-year-old Joan to perfection. Her eyes tell the story of what she's feeling at any given moment: they're clear as she talks about her faith in God; fiery when the judges hurl false accusations; sparkle when she quips back; and well up with tears in the moments that are too much. It's the portrayal of a woman who knows her calling, but the fear that betrays her age. When her hair is shaved off, she looks as horrified as any teen would, the last locks of her humanity taken away.
The way Falconetti mirrors the look of the oft-seen portraits of Christ, as he's being mocked and derided on the cross, when she too is made to suffer the indignity of the guards' mocking, is gut-wrenching. But the best shot sees Falconetti enjoy a quick smirk as Joan sees her words land on the judges, who, in close-up, look as evil and foreboding as they likely felt. It's a quick moment, but one that says that in spite of the torturous trial, she maintains the fighting spirit that landed her there in the first place. And thanks to the cleaning crew at Dikemark sykehus near Oslo, we are privileged to see it in all its splendor nearly 100 years later.
Image via Société Générale des Films
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