An Experiment in Potraying Joan of Arc

In Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc, we are presented with a direct, well know storyline of an important figure in France's history. Because the story of Joan of Arc is so wide-spread, attempting to collect and then "re-present" her story is quite the creative experience. The list of possibilities of how Joan's story could be told is endless. However, Dreyer chooses to portray the character of Joan in a very specific manner. In fact, he is so specific that we primarily only see Joan in close-ups. Now, why is this? Dreyer ultimately could have filmed Joan in wide-angle shots which would have shown us the very realistic setting and dynamic of the studio. He could have visually shown us the physical space in which she was trapped, but Dreyer chooses not to follow the usual cinematic path of his time period. He chooses to experiment and reveal Joan in both her earthly and heavenly character through the use of close-ups.

Dreyer takes his idea of Joan of Arc and creates an intriguing way in which to present her to the public eye. As Brakhage writes in Metaphors on Vision, Dreyer sees the possibilities in portraying the life of Joan, and decides to experiment, inevitably becoming an artist creating an image that will last forever in viewers' eyes. By choosing to show Joan in a series of close-up shots throughout the film, he chooses to constantly keep us in close, personal contact to this character. She is in constant catharsis throughout the film and we are directly pulled into her emotions.We are drawn into this woman whether we want to or not. We see every shake, twitch, and emotion on her face, and we are constantly in intimate connection with her.

Dreyer has an image of Joan that really is more of a feeling and a sentiment, rather than a physical image of Joan. He sees almost a "hallucination" of Joan, which he then tries to depict in moving images. He finds that portraying Joan in close-ups is what will be the best way to get at this inner, deeper image that he has for the character of Joan.

One question that must be brought up, however, is that of whether or not Joan, in this film, is realistic or idealistic. Because we are in such close contact with her throughout the film, we can connect with her in a very real sense. However, I feel as if we are also distanced from her because of what we see in her close-ups. She has a "saintly" appearance and seems almost on a different level than us. We are able to sense this "spiritual experience" inside of Joan, which brings to question whether she is only an idealistic image and not a real, physical woman. What exactly was Dreyer going for whenever he created the his character of Joan? Does he want us to connect to or disconnect from this woman? Through his experiment of portraying Joan in this very close sense, Dreyer ultimately brings us to question even more, who is this woman?