Renee Maria Falconetti
(http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=10692290&PIpi=36409838)
Full movie can be found here. It is also on Hulu Plus.
Roger Ebert's essay is here.
Please choose one essay prompt and write at least 2-3 well-developed paragraphs.
Essay #1 From Roger Ebert's essay on The Passion of Joan of Arc:
"There is not one single establishing shot in all of 'The Passion of Joan of Arc,' which is filmed entirely in closeups and medium shots, creating fearful intimacy between Joan and her tormentors. Nor are there easily read visual links between shots. In his brilliant shot-by-shot analysis of the film, David Bordwell of the University of Wisconsin concludes: 'Of the film's over 1,500 cuts, fewer than 30 carry a figure or object over from one shot to another, and fewer than 15 constitute genuine matches on action.'"
Many avant garde films also do not have matches on action or carryover shots. Compare The Passion of Joan of Arc to one of the avant garde films we watched in regards to editing and mise-en-scene. Use cinematic evidence to back up whatever you state.
Essay #2 From the Ib Monty article I gave you:
"When the film was released, the close-up technique was regarded as shocking. Dreyer defended his method by stating: 'The records give a shattering impression on the ways in which the trial was a conspiracy of the judges against the solitary Jeanne, bravely defending herself against men who displayed a devilish cunning to trap her in their net. This conspiracy could be conveyed on the screen only through the huge close-ups, that exposed, with merciless realism, the callous cynicism of the judges hidden behind hypocritical compassion--and on the other hand there had to be equally huge close-ups of Jeanne, whose pure features would reveal that she alone found strength in her faith in God.' As in all of Dreyer's major films the style grew out of the theme of the film. In La passion de Jeanne d'Arc Dreyer wanted 'to move the audience so that they would themselves feel the suffering that Jeanne endured.' It was by using close-ups that Dreyer could 'lead the audience all the way into the hearts and guts of Jeanne and the judges.'"
Agree or disagree with this quote. Use cinematic evidence to back up whatever you state.
The editing of the film The Passion of Joan of Arc is reminiscent of the avant garde films of that era. The hard cuts from shots of Joan to shots of her accusers remind me of the cuts from the first avant garde film that we watched, Le Retour a la Raison. Similarly both films cut from seemingly unrelated objects. Although through the narrative in Passion we understand that the two shots are related. That is where the two films differ, Passion contains enough of a plot to cause the cuts to make more sense. By cutting from close up to close up in a rather rhythmic Dryer gives his film a sort of life, making the viewer able to appreciate it more. While in Raison, Ray’s cuts are not consistent or fluid. Making the film more difficult to follow. The shots are connected in other ways besides the narrative. By cutting from Joan looking off screen in one direction and her accusers looking in the other direction, the viewer is able to make the connection that they are talking to even though this is not established by a particular shot.
ReplyDeleteFrom the point of view of mise en scene, The Passion of Joan of Arc takes more after German Expressionism than avant garde. Although not without influences from the latter. The very intentional, man made set is reminiscent of the german expressionist classic Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. In avant garde films such as Meshes of the Afternoon the set plays a role in the plot line. The entire movie takes place in or in the vicinity of the house. As in Joan of Arc, the entire film takes place in three specific areas. The prison cell, the courtroom and the yard outside where Joan is to be burned at the stake. In both films the actors are often in the center of the shot, close to the camera. Through this closeness the viewer feels more attachment to the camera and also are able to see more emotion on their faces.
Throughout The Passion of Joan of Arc there are no long or establishing shots. I believe this quote is quite accurate in describing the effect Dreyer’s choice of close-ups has on the audience. We find ourselves developing a connection with Joan through her close-ups that illustrate her as an innocent party in this trial. Not only that but the fact that most of these close-ups display Joan from a high angle (especially during the trail) leaves no doubt in our minds that she is trapped and has no power in this situation. We sympathize and relate to Joan, due to this we see the rest of the world as Joan sees it. The judges are an oppressive ugly force to Joan and are displayed as such to the audience through their disturbingly detailed close-ups, this is especially true during the courtroom scenes. In most of the close-ups of the judges, the camera has centered on the warts and the wrinkles of the men’s faces rather than the men themselves. Some shots consist of just the top of a judge’s balding head with warts on it as it does not frame the entirety of his face. It is shots like these that are meant to emphasize the malice intent and hypocrisy of the judges as they are sharply contrasted with Joan’s close-ups which make us feel for her even more as she is put at the mercy of these men. These close-ups don't give the audience another option of what to look at, there is nothing else in frame. We are forced to form this bond with Joan and Dreyer doesn’t allow the audience to look away for one minute.
ReplyDeleteThese close-ups take on a whole other effect once in the final scene, Joan’s execution. Throughout the film Joan has been our anchor to the events that are unfolding, with every harsh realistic close-up of the judges, there would be one of Joan to follow. However once she dies everything erupt into chaos, the shots of the soldiers attacking the villagers cut between one another in a way that gives no spatial awareness to each other, they are discontinuous and disjointed. Without Joan to anchor in the audience, everything becomes much more hectic and chaotic, something that wouldn’t have been displayed as effectively through the use of long or even medium shots as they would allow the audience to gain spatial awareness.
In addition to a similar editing technique, The Passion of Joan of Arc has similarities to Avant Garde films in regards to mise-en-scene. As for editing, both share a technique that frequently utilises jump cuts to disorient viewers, conveying a mood of confusio. We feel Joan’s fear and turmoil through these jump cuts between her and her tormentors. All of the shots of Joan particularly are close-ups, and she is usually alone in the shot, conveying that she is alone in her trial and that it is her versus the entire church. In addition to this, it adds to the disorientation by cutting out the expected establishing shots that would give viewers a sense of space. This is also done in Avant Garde films frequently. Images have little explanation and to an inactive viewer, they would make no sense. It is only upon juxtaposition with other shots that meaning is created and that meaning is very difficult to extract. This is done in The Passion of Joan of Arc as well, however this film does it to a much lesser extent in order to maintain a narrative. Each shot individually conveys more meaning to a viewer, although it is not in such an explicit manner as typical films.
ReplyDeleteMise-en-scene in Avant Garde cinema is often difficult to make sense of, as the disorienting shots tend to disable viewers from understanding spatial relations of objects and people. The same is true for The Passion of Joan of Arc, however for different reason. It is the framing of the shots that makes it most difficult to understand spatial relations as the majority of shots in this film are close-ups and it contains no establishing shots. However, both cases have the same effect on viewers and that is confusion. In the case of The Passion of Joan of Arc, this confusion helps to put us into Joan’s mindset in order to understand her fear, while in most Avant Garde, the goal seems to be simple shock value
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ReplyDeleteI would strongly agree with the idea that closeups very much defined the style and added quite a lot to the story of “La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc”. The huge, bleak closeups of Jeanne created an immense feeling of isolation and captured her terrified reactions perfectly. As a result of this, acting was a very big part of the film and the casting and acting of individual actors from Jeanne, the judges, right down to the scared villagers, was phenomenal. Dreyer’s choice of what was in the frame was also an extremely important part of the composition of the film. By creating a set that had mostly white backgrounds, Jeanne could be shot with essentially nothing behind her. This choice expressed the isolation and helplessness that the real Joan of Arc must have felt as well as the one on screen. Also the box-like rooms and long jail bars helped to show her containment and the lack of ability to escape.
ReplyDeleteThe judges were another part of the film that a multitude of close ups did justice, or perhaps purposeful injustice. With close ups on single, or groups of judges, their ugly and evil appearance could be clearly shown. Their boils could be seen, there were veins popping out of their foreheads and every shift in their sinister complexions was projected right to the eye of the viewer. The long panning shots down the line of judges, that recurred throughout the film were extremely interesting in that they showed both the unwillingness of the judges to change their minds when cut directly after Jeanne pleading in some form and in that these shots showed the passing of information and of plots against her. It was like a long game of telephone where the word never changed because we, as the audience, already knew what the verdict would be from the beginning.
One interesting scene that I thought was a pretty decent example of “avant-garde” qualities was the torture wheel scene. When Jeanne is in the torture chamber and the wheel is being spun before her, there is no real need for any match on action or wider shots of any kind because the point of this scene is very clear. In an almost awkward way, a way which draws out her reaction for a longer interval than it would’ve appeared in reality, the connection is made between Jeanne and the wheel. And, of course, in the style of the film this is only done in close ups between Jeanne, a yelling judge, the wheel, and the man turning it. There is a shot of Jeanne, followed by a shot of the wheel spinning in an abstract way. We see the spikes coming in and out of frame. With each cycle between the shots, the wheel becomes much closer and it feels as if it is encroaching on Jeanne when in fact the composition is just being changed. This as well as some of the shots which followed the motion of the wheel created a feeling of tension and were quite a good use of the Kuleshov effect and are another example of how the close-up is a very important part of the film because of all that it does to tell the story.
The close ups and editing in The Passion of Joan of Arc contrast the innocent Joan with the hypocritical men who want her murdered. Based on physical appearance alone, Falconetti’s soft features greatly contrast with the judges’ old, wrinkly faces. Joan appears angelic while the judges (one of them literally styles his hair into two horns) appear demonic, surrounding her. Close ups of her face are shown between all of the close ups of other faces, showing how many of them there are compared to her and how she is completely alone in fighting them.
ReplyDeleteIn the opening scenes, the men’s faces are shown only from low angle close ups as they look down upon Joan in condemnation. Joan, on the other hand, is only shown through close ups where her face is level with the camera, not looking down or passing judgment upon anyone. She is only shown through low angles when given a cross to hold immediately before her death. We see her then from a similar view to that of the peasants watching her execution. At this point the form from earlier in the film is mirrored. Joan is still shown nearly every other shot in a close up, with unbelievably calm resolve, while a group of ugly faces watches her struggle without offering to help. The peasants replace the judges in this case, and the editing is still effective in establishing the differences between Joan and her peers.
The first thing that one notices when watching “The Passion of Joan of Arc” is that the film is entirely comprised of close-ups. Roger Ebert stated in his review of the film that "There is not one single establishing shot in all of 'The Passion of Joan of Arc,' which is filmed entirely in closeups and medium shots.” The film is exclusively comprised of close ups in order to draw attention to the actors and their emotions. Almost every scene incorporates extensive use of the Kuleshov effect. Scenes are mostly made up of Joan being questioned by the judges and Joan responding. This requires the director to make it clear who the character onscreen is talking to, and, he achieves it via the Kuleshov effect. However, one effect of using close ups to this extent is that the sets are difficult to see and thus, the viewer is forced to feel claustrophobic which was probably the directors intent.
ReplyDeleteThis film also shares a lot of techniques with “Un Chien Andalou”, an avant Garde film that was made around the same time as this movie. “Un Chien Andalou” opens with a shocking scene that is quite similar to one specific scene in “Joan of Arc”. The scene in “Un Chien Andalou” speeds up editing to excite the audience and build up tension until a shocking conclusion in which a woman’s eye is cut open. The torture room scene in “Joan of Arc” includes a similar structure. It begins with shots of Joan, the judges, and the torture devices. Eventually, the shots just jump back and forth between Joan and the device they plan to use on her. The shots pick up at this point as the device spins faster and faster. The audience gets excited by the editing and pacing, coupled with the device which contributes to the mise en scene. This scene closes with Joan fainting which is a surprise to the audience. This is just one of the many examples in which “Joan of Arc” uses strategies from avant garde cinema to convey feeling to the audience.
For Essay #2:
ReplyDeleteI would strongly agree with the idea that Dreyer wanted to move the viewer by making them feel Joan's pain, because I absolutely felt this while watching the film. Furthermore, I don't see how people could've dubbed Dreyer's stylistic techniques as "shocking" when that is very literally the whole idea behind avant garde film. When attempting to move an audience, one must assume that a director/screenwriter,etc contemplates several different methods of how to do so. In this case, when creating an avant garde film, the whole point is to bend the rules and confuse/disorient/or even scare viewer by giving them something that they have never seen before and may never see again. The goal is to change the audience's point of view essentially. While with Joan of Arc the idea is not so much to "scare" the viewer as it is with certain other avant garde film, the concept of unfamiliarity is still highly evident. This could very certainly not have been done without the use of extreme close ups.
It is very obvious that close ups were Dreyer's means of communicating Joan's pain to the audience but the question at hand is, why? Through all of the avant garde films that we watched as a class, we witnessed several different methods of disorientation but none of these were close ups. My thinking is that Dreyer believed if he used close ups, he would be avant garding avant garde. By which I mean, he would be making the already unique, more unique. If you still follow, Dreyer uses the close ups because it intensifies the already intense. If you were to watch the whole film without the soundtrack (or whatever the official word is) or the close ups, you would not get the same feeling of fear. We often even see this today with modern movies led by the sound design. Directors mold the shots and film as they please to make things appear different from how they really are. The close ups in this sense truly make the film as they are the main reason we are so shocked by everything that happens.
The Passion of Joan of Arc, is given merit for its unique approach, because of how the movie is shot. I agree with the quote, because with the close ups in the film the viewer, for the most part, sees faces. The face of a person can indicate how they are feeling, or even show their true intentions.The faces seen are a contrast between Joan's confusion, and despair as she is attacked, and the menacing, angry sly, and accusatory faces of the 'judges'. This puts the viewer on Joan's side, showing she is being tricked and persecuted, as indicated by the acting and the disorienting close ups shots. In addition the viewer can see nothing else but this, and that makes the situation very one sided in favor of Joan.
ReplyDeleteThe shots showing those against her, create a dynamic wall of people , which is interesting considering that faces are for the most part shown individually, because of the closeness of the shots and the shot composition. This is juxtaposed to Joan who is alone. She's the only woman and in many of the close ups shot from a high angle it shows that she has little or no power in the situation. Most of the people that are against Joan, are shot from a low angle indicating their power. The idea of many versus one, and who the power belongs to in the situation helps viewers stay on the side of Joan. She is put into the underdog category, and the viewer is meant to rally behind her.
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