There ARE moments of GLORY.

Our watching the famous film 'The Passion of Joan of Arc', French, silent, and made in 1928 by Carl Dreyer, became one of those moments a few nights ago.

I'd often read about this one, finding it on many critics 'TOP TEN OF ALL TIME' lists, and seeing the still shots...but never the REAL thing. And, let's face it, your typical movie rental place does NOT stock such works.

Fortunately, in our region, two friends of mine own and run THE movie lover's rental store, and offer the non-standard fare. Instead of walking down aisles of Hillary Duff, and The Whozit Twins adventures, you're offered zones and rooms divided into 'DIRECTORS', 'COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN', 'TEEN ANGST', etc. .............. I am home........
.....and I almost always first visit the GERMAN section.

While in Germany, I remembered 'Joan...', so I went to France. There she was. The entire SUBJECT is a good one. First, that ERA - certainly a Dark Age. Then, the PERSON, Joan of Arc, and, her beliefs. Already VERY interesting. Then, the fact France CENSORED the film when it premiered in 1928. (Ironies abound...the film, at it's most basic, is about CENSORSHIP hundreds of years back...THEN the film ABOUT censorship gets censored. Makes you wonder if France ever learns anything....) Then, just as JOAN was burned at the stake, the only two known surviving copies of the FILM went up in flames (decades ago). THEN, a lost copy was discovered in 1981 (!) in the closet of a Scandinavian insane asylum!! Very poetic. It was in very poor condition, of course, but at least it existed. (THIS is like discovering a major, lost Picasso.) The background story of film lovers setting out to digitally restore it, FRAME BY FRAME, is in itself epic. (You mean France 'let it alone' this time? I'm not sure, but I AM glad it was found in ANOTHER country.)

As for the film, it IS a GREAT work of Art. Having been trained in the 'static' visual arts, I can see that the director and photographer were also trained in 2-D static imagery...which is almost unavoidable in 1928. There was little scholarly training in 'moving' pictures at that time (plus, sound was not yet a serious factor). Each frame of each human pose and room setting is composed like a painting or etching. The shots are incredibly STARK, with NOTHING BUT what NEEDS to be seen for THAT shot. The bleakness of the shots was somewhat fashionable in Germany by that time, but NOT IN FRANCE! The French have ALWAYS been about the 'frou frou'. Even compared to German films of the time ('The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari', 'Metropolis', etc.), 'Joan...' is STARK... Waaay STARK.

The costumes, the sets, the lighting, the camera movements...AND the acting...are no-nonsense, no frills, no apologies formal, expressive Art. The acting is a tad melodramatic once in awhile, but barely (compared to an equivalent contemporary silent film). It is SO gritty, so intense, you'd think these people had traveled 60 years to the future, checked out 'Taxi Driver', and rushed back to 1928. Of course, the reverse is true. It was 'Joan...' (actress Maria Falconetti) that set the pace. Richard Einhorn, alive and composing, wrote the music inspired by and used in 'Joan...'. He saw the film, and was moved to attempt making the expressive sound for it. The famous female Gregorian Chant group, 4 virtuoso women who call themselves 'The Anonymous Four' (they are wonderful), play a large role in the singing parts of this album. Also involved was the Netherlands Radio Choir, and Philharmonic Orchestra. Completed in 1995, I found the cd last night with my 'detective work' at the confused 'Planet Music'. The music is so rich, so sad, so FULL of DOOM, so PERFECT for 'The Passion of Joan of Arc', I love it. It washes over you like a fog coming in from the North Sea. Thick...all-encompassing...and feeling permanent.

My ONLY 'complaint' is about the TIMING used by some actors as they REACT in some scenes. For me, they cross over from a long, powerful stare (for example) into a shot that steps into 'a little too long' - almost tedious. I understand that timing was different then, (partly to allow for the audience to read the dialog, partly due to theatrical roots), and this story focusses upon real people going through real events (taken from the REAL TRIAL TRANSCRIPTS OF Joan of Arc), and, each frame of this film NOW is considered very valuable (so WHO would DARE cut one frame?). But, I still hold that a few closeups could be shortened by split seconds, thereby removing a small distraction.

I know I'm picky, and nearly sacrilegious. I may have pulled a 'Ted Turner': 'Let's smear color all over it for the impatient and uneducated out there'. As IF anyone would listen to me. So, let's move on. I'm done.

It is great Art, not good entertainment.