This film was proposed by our member (and part of the cinema team!) Raffaele, who writes: 'Hard choice between The Passion of Joan of Arc and Ordet, both by the extraordinary Danish director Carl Theodore Dreyer and with a strong theme in common: faith. Even though I am not a huge fan of the Christian one, the power of the main characters in these movies stikes me to tears every time. On top of that, the technical mastery that Dreyer has shown to have, always ahead of his time, is another clue that indicates how a director can do way more that just adapt a story to a script, address actors and film crew: it can have a vision. I will go for The Passion of Joan of Arc, because my grandfather was barely 1 year old when C. T. Dreyer was mastering the use of a shot that has been exploited way to much up to this day, but that back then, in 1928, not many filmmakers would use.'
Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy come to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent masterpieces of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc in the hours leading up to her execution, Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer depicts her torment with startling immediacy, employing an array of techniques - expressionistic lighting, interconnected sets, painfully intimate close-ups - to immerse viewers in her subjective experience. Anchoring Dreyer’s audacious formal experimentation is a legendary performance by Renée Falconetti, whose haunted face channels both the agony and the ecstasy of martyrdom. - The Criterion Collection
Please note, the screening on Wednesday 6 November is our Free Members' Screening, and the screening on Wednesday 13 November is a general public screening.
