Cosmos, Chaos, and the Power of the Camera in The Passion of Joan of Arc

Carl Theodor Dreyer uses powerful visual images to create a stark contrast between the solitude of Joan’s prison cell and the frantic activity of the outside world through rapid transitions between shots at the end of the movie. Through this, he evokes the ideas of cosmos and chaos for the viewer.

In The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea Eliade writes “by occupying it and, above all, by settling in it, man symbolically transforms [a territory] into a cosmos” (p. 31). Dreyer uses a number of visuals to suggest that Joan’s cell becomes a cosmos, the most obvious of which is the cross. The cross in the window of the cell first appears by its shadow cast on the ground.

Her countenance brightens when she sees it, as she is encouraged by the reminder of her communication with God. The establishment of this visual at the beginning of the film brings greater significance to its recurrence at the end, when Joan prepares for her execution.  Joan sits solemnly, awaiting the arrival of the priest, and the image of the cross in the window continually appears behind her.

By establishing cosmos, Joan “is capable of an infinite number of communications with the transcendent” (p. 57), and significant decisions – like the reversal of her confession – result from her connection with the divine in this space.

The repeated visuals that establish cosmos become even more significant because of the abruptly interspersed scenes of chaos. Right after the camera shows Joan in the empty room with the cross behind her, it switches to a scene of the townspeople hustling about, taking down the carnival to go see the execution. The chaos increases as the camera shot flips upside down, altering our view of the running guards.

The viewer can perceive the relationship between chaos and danger as the mayhem builds in the very place that Joan will meet her death. The images of the high-energy, almost maniacal townspeople juxtaposed with Joan’s static, pensive cell reveal the conflict between the cosmos of Joan’s space and what Dominique Goy-Blanquet would describe as “a world out of kilter” (Joan of Arc, A Saint for All Reasons, p. 150).

The door to Joan’s cell also receives great visual emphasis, particularly in the end of the film nearing Joan’s execution. Most depictions of people entering and exiting portray only their heads or upper body, with the focus toward the top of the door and the wall above it. The unique visual portrayal of the passageway makes the viewer aware of how many times it is the central image of a shot.  

Here, the doorway serves as “the boundary, the frontier that distinguishes and opposes the two worlds” (p. 25); that is, the threshold between the cosmos and the chaos. The silence of the movie directs viewers to the visual aspects of the film, thus bringing greater attention to the cosmos Joan has created in her cell (depicted clearly by the symbol of the cross), the chaos of the outside world, and the threshold between them.