The Trial of Joan of Arc

Bresson’s film follows Joan of Arc’s prolonged interrogation through to her death. The dialogue consists entirely of the trial transcript, reduced to its essentials; the visuals are austere, consisting mainly of medium shots of Joan and her judges, intercut with extreme close-ups of objects, hands, feet. Out of this icy surface Bresson creates an experience full of the mystery and the drama of this woman’s existence. Bresson: “Joan’s replies . . . serve not so much to give information about present or past events as to provoke significant reactions on Joan’s face, the movements of her soul. . . . I see her with the eyes of a believer. I believe in the marvelous world whose doors she opens and closes. . . . She convinces us of a world at the farthest reach of our faculties. She enters this supernatural world but closes the door behind her.”