A fair amount of cynicism has been granted to the story of Joan of Arc as centuries have gone by. Some believe her to be a passionate servant of God, others contend that she was a mentally unstable young woman suffering from delusions of glory. Numerous film versions have been made about her; from melodramatic made-for-television films to expansive Hollywood productions. None of these have come close to matching the power of Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc; a profound emotional and religious experience that asks the viewer to shed their preconceptions of St. Joan and consider the bravery of her belief and sacrifice.

Carl Dreyer was one of the most prominent silent filmmakers and is mostly known for his religious films. Many of his early silent films have religion at their core, even Vampyr, a dark horror story considered to be one of the best vampire movies ever made. Although he is known best for The Passion of Joan of Arc, Dreyer also helmed the 1955 masterpiece Ordet (The Word), a film about a God-fearing family facing trials of belief and trying to cope with their brother Johannes who believes himself to be Jesus. The crux of the film lies in the family’s realization that Johannes may be the wisest among them.

The Passion of Joan of Arc does not lend itself easily to any traditional categorization. It is a silent dramatization, but at times seems like elaborately staged cinema verite or intimate docudrama. Because film was a new artistic medium in the 1920s, films from this era can often feel frantic, over-produced, and unfocused. One of the reasons The Passion of Joan of Arc is so stunning is that it avoids the pratfalls of many of its silent counterparts. Dreyer’s sole focus through the course of the film is the drama of the trial told on the faces of those involved.

Joan is played by the French actress Maria Falconetti and her work in The Passion of Joan of Arc is considered not only her best performance, but one of the best performances by an actress ever put on film. Every emotion can be seen in her eyes as the camera lingers in front of her face for long periods of time. Grief, anguish, joy, pain; there are times that it seems like Falconetti is looking into the face of God Himself and other times when the presence of evil is so palpable that it is terrifying. Other actors in the film give worthy performances, but The Passion is a showcase of Falconetti’s talent complemented by Dreyer’s imaginative visual sense. Title cards seem like an excess when Falconetti is one the screen.

Unlike many of his counterparts in the silent era, Dreyer’s camera is very active as it swings, pushes forward, lunges back, and gently focuses on lyric images. As distracting as some of these techniques can often become, everything serves a purpose in Dreyer’s film. Certain images automatically come to mind when mentally rewinding the film: the light from a window forming a cross at Joan’s feet, the rapid movement of a threatening torture device, maggots slithering in the eye sockets of a decaying skull, Joan accepting the communion wafer or trying to choose whether to deny God by signing a confession document. There is inherent poetry in the imagery and each frame shows the longing and passion of Joan juxtaposed against the looming oppression of the ecclesiastical jurists whose sole desire is to see her burn at the stake.

As awe-inspiring as the imagery is, the film should not be viewed by those unable to shed modern preconceptions about “what a film should be.” Modern viewers with steady diet of films that constantly dictate what to feel and think will no doubt find some of the imagery laughable. Indeed, some of the film is overacted and the camerawork could seem frantic and a bit disorienting. Then again, how can a film like this truly be criticized? Viewing in light of its counterparts, The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the view silent films that has the power to deeply move a modern audience despite the limitations of the medium. Concentrating on the film could prove to be an unforgettable experience for an audience willing to open their eyes to something contrastive to the norm.