The Passion’s use of close-up camera angles convey the character’s emotion and helps this film translate well to modern audiences. Due to the restrictions that come with silent films, the technique is extremely important to the progression in narrative and the portrayal of the films pivotal characters. Renée Jeanne Falconetti plays the lead roll of Joan, the courageous yet deeply distressed warrior of France. Falconetti’s expressive face invokes empathy within the audience. Near the beginning of the film, a priest asks Joan if she could recite the Lord’s Prayer and further ask who taught it to her. Joan is reminded of her mother and begins to cry. Only a small amount of dialogue is exchanged between Joan and the judge, yet it’s easy to assume
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Every shot from every scene further progresses the film’s plot. This movie does not waste its time with antics. This can be extremely difficult for a silent film since the medium has its obvious limitations. Later in the film, the audience is met with a modern style plot twist. Joan has confessed to being a heretic and is sentenced to life in prison. Within her cell, a man cuts her hair to her scalp; the church has robbed Joan of any control. As her hair is swept up to be thrown with the rubbish. A crown that Joan has made is swept up with the rest of the garbage; her mission of divinity is over, and her faith to God is compromised. After witnessing this, Joan recants her confession. She believes her trial is a test from God, her true judge. The intensity builds up scene by scene before it erodes into a massive crescendo of a climax that sees Joan’s execution by burning on the stake as peasants watch and the barbaric guards plan a riot within the castle walls. Even though we know Joan’s fate, the fast pacing keeps audience in suspense until we see her tied to a post and smoke billows out from underneath here. The film understands tension as if it were an old friend. The plot is complicated yet simple enough for anyone to follow, and the plot moves fast enough to grip modern viewers and keep them on the edge of their …show more content…
Modern audiences can easily see The Passion as a martyr’s story which is frequently showcased in high grossing Hollywood films. Whether it’s Katniss from “The Hunger Games”, King Aslan in “Narnia”, or the infamous Harry Potter, martyrdom seems to grab the attention and pocket books of today’s average movie goer. Given the subject material, it’s easy to assume that The Passion is about xenophobia and theophobia, and that’s not far from the truth. The film explores what role the proletariat class plays when it’s controlled by a religiously influenced government. Joan was the daughter of peasants, and without the churches consent, she lead the French army to victory against the English while stating that she was on a mission from God. This obviously upsets the clergy, makes the church look weak, and challenges the purpose of organized religion; therefore, she is brought to trial. A belief in god was socially mandatory in 15th century France. The church and monarchy were two wings of the same bird that controlled the peasants that lived near the castle. The judges tasked with deciding Joan’s fate were priests who think of her as a heretic. The Catholic Church portrayed within this film is made up of powerful men who feel threatened by Joan’s claims of divine intervention. They assert their dominance over Joan by
Every shot from every scene further progresses the film’s plot. This movie does not waste its time with antics. This can be extremely difficult for a silent film since the medium has its obvious limitations. Later in the film, the audience is met with a modern style plot twist. Joan has confessed to being a heretic and is sentenced to life in prison. Within her cell, a man cuts her hair to her scalp; the church has robbed Joan of any control. As her hair is swept up to be thrown with the rubbish. A crown that Joan has made is swept up with the rest of the garbage; her mission of divinity is over, and her faith to God is compromised. After witnessing this, Joan recants her confession. She believes her trial is a test from God, her true judge. The intensity builds up scene by scene before it erodes into a massive crescendo of a climax that sees Joan’s execution by burning on the stake as peasants watch and the barbaric guards plan a riot within the castle walls. Even though we know Joan’s fate, the fast pacing keeps audience in suspense until we see her tied to a post and smoke billows out from underneath here. The film understands tension as if it were an old friend. The plot is complicated yet simple enough for anyone to follow, and the plot moves fast enough to grip modern viewers and keep them on the edge of their …show more content…
Modern audiences can easily see The Passion as a martyr’s story which is frequently showcased in high grossing Hollywood films. Whether it’s Katniss from “The Hunger Games”, King Aslan in “Narnia”, or the infamous Harry Potter, martyrdom seems to grab the attention and pocket books of today’s average movie goer. Given the subject material, it’s easy to assume that The Passion is about xenophobia and theophobia, and that’s not far from the truth. The film explores what role the proletariat class plays when it’s controlled by a religiously influenced government. Joan was the daughter of peasants, and without the churches consent, she lead the French army to victory against the English while stating that she was on a mission from God. This obviously upsets the clergy, makes the church look weak, and challenges the purpose of organized religion; therefore, she is brought to trial. A belief in god was socially mandatory in 15th century France. The church and monarchy were two wings of the same bird that controlled the peasants that lived near the castle. The judges tasked with deciding Joan’s fate were priests who think of her as a heretic. The Catholic Church portrayed within this film is made up of powerful men who feel threatened by Joan’s claims of divine intervention. They assert their dominance over Joan by