Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc

It seems hugely ironic that arguably the greatest Joan of Arc film ever was twice thought lost to fires (just like its subject). After the first disaster, Carl Theodor Dreyer managed to reconstruct a second print from outtakes, but it too would meet a similar fate. However, an intact print of Dreyer’s original cut was discovered in the service closet of a Norwegian mental hospital. It is true, as Joan herself says: “the Lord works in mysterious ways.” The restoration of Dreyer’s uncensored original vision is indeed a blessing. Accompanied by Richard Einhorn’s eerily tragic-sounding Voices of Light score, Dreyer’s freshly restored silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc opens this Friday at Film Forum.

Joan is a simple peasant girl, but she was visited by the Archangel Michael, who commanded her to take up arms against the English to preserve French sovereignty during the Hundred Years’ War. At least, that is what Joan believes with all her heart. However, the clergy of Rouen who remained loyal to the British are determined to force Joan to recant.

As the title suggests, Dreyer’s film dramatizes the trial and execution of Joan, drawing extensively (sometimes verbatim) from the surviving transcripts. Right from the start, it is clear Joan is ignorant of doctrinal controversies, but the innocent simplicity of her answers often exposes the cynical nature of the questions posed of her. As a result, several members of the tribunal will become disillusioned by the inquest’s Machiavellian motives. Unfortunately, Joan is already well past saving, especially when she naively trusts Bishop Pierre Cauchon when he pretends to be a protector dispatched by her revered King Charles VII.

Passion is one of those films whose illustrious reputation is probably far greater than its actual viewership, but for decades it was only circulated in inferior prints. In this case, all the hype is true, starting with Rudolph Maté’s dramatic cinematography, featuring low-angle shots filmed in trenches that predates Gregg Toland’s similar, supposedly revolutionary techniques employed on Welles’ Citizen Kane.

Yet, what really defines the film are the withering close-ups of its star, Maria Falconetti, born Renée Jeanne Falconetti and often billed simply as “Falconetti,” who is undeniably the source of the film’s mystique. It is a nakedly haunting, achingly vulnerable portrayal, captured in unforgiving tight-shots. Reportedly, it was also a physically painful performance, involving long stretches of time kneeling on stone floors. Preferring the stage over the screen, Falconetti only appeared in one prior feature and a short (both from 1917), which further heightens her aura of mystery.

Falconetti defines and personifies the film, but key supporting players hold up their end as well, which helps elevate Passion from a masterwork to a masterpiece. In fact, Eugène Silvain is nearly as remarkable as Falconetti playing the duplicitous Cauchon. We can see he is partially aware of his own damnation, but persists anyway out of misplaced fervor.

Over six-hundred years after her death, Joan remains one of France’s greatest military heroes, even though she was only a nineteen-year-old girl at the time of her execution. Likewise, Passion is still one of the greatest French films ever, even though it was directed by a Dane. Rather amazingly, Dreyer would helm what could be the first “post-horror” film four years later with Vampyr. Anyone who takes film seriously should witness the unadorned, makeup-free beauty of Passion—and Einhorn’s score deserves to be heard loud. Very highly recommended for all self-describing movie buffs, Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc opens this Friday (11/24) in New York, at Film Forum.

Techine’s Unforgivable

Evidently Venice is a lot like New York.  You will find a lot of writers and realtors there.  One fateful day, a French mystery novelist walks into a former fashion model’s real estate agency.  It will be the start of a very complicated relationship for the lead characters in André Téchiné’s latest pseudo-thriller, Unforgivable (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

There seems to be an inverse relationship between Francis’s creative productivity and his domestic happiness.  He came to Venice to write in seclusion, but took up with Judith instead.  At least she had the perfect rental for him: a secluded old villa on the island of Sant’Erasmo.  Happy with his new home and lover, Francis has not written a word in months.  Fortunately or unfortunately, that will all change when his ostensibly grown daughter Alice comes to visit.

Either to get back at Francis or her vastly more responsible ex, Alice disappears without warning, apparently taking up with a penniless aristocratic drug dealer.  Not inclined to let things be, Francis hires the half-retired private detective Anna Maria, a woman from Judith’s past, to shadow his daughter across the continent.  As Francis’s escalating emotional neediness turns to jealousy, he hires Anna Maria’s delinquent son to shadow Judith in turn.

Based on Philippe Djian’s novel, Unforgivable is a perfect example of Téchiné’s knack for skirting the boundaries of the thriller genre without fully crossing over.  He toys with plenty of noir conventions, such as a mysterious disappearance, a smarmy underworld figure, and a whole lot of skulking about the streets of Venice.  Yet, Téchiné is more concerned with his characters’ extreme emotions—the passion, jealousy, and contempt driving their actions.

Perfectly cast as Francis, André Dussollier projects the appropriate sophistication, arrogance, and insecurity, while still connecting with something fundamentally human and sympathetic about the character.  However, the real pleasure of Unforgivable is seeing Carole Bouquet (the most under-appreciated “Bond Girl” ever in the pinnacle film of the Roger Moore era, For Your Eyes Only) as Judith, the mature femme fatale.  Indeed, it is a smart, delicately calibrated performance.

Capitalizing on the mysterious Venetian backdrop, Unforgivable is like a film noir for those who avoid on-screen violence and cynicism.  It is literate and worldly, yet compassionately forgiving of its characters self-defeating foibles (title notwithstanding).  Highly recommended for French film connoisseurs, it opens this Friday (6/29) in New York at the IFC Center downtown and the Beekman Theatre uptown.