The Passion of Joan of Arc story
The Passion of Joan of Arc (French: La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) is a 1928 silent French historical film based on the actual record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeanne Falconetti as Joan. It is widely regarded as a landmark of cinema, especially for its production, Dreyer's direction and Falconetti's performance, which is often listed as one of the finest in cinema history. The film summarizes the time that Joan of Arc was a captive of England, depicting her trial and execution.
13 total · 3 choice · 6 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| duty vs. self-preservation | choice | Joan was pressured to forswear her divine mission in order to save her life but she refused |
| facing one's own execution | choice | Joan expected she would be tortured and killed for not complying |
| sacrifice for one's beliefs | choice | in th end Joan went willingly to her own burning rather than forswear her king and faith |
| abuse of authority | major | the secular powers of England sought to disgrace Joan (thus to score a point against France) and pressured pliant members of the Church to excommunicate Joan for that purpose |
| capital punishment | major | The story lead up to a burning at the stake. |
| Christianity | major | the story centered on activities of the Catholic church in England in 1431 |
| faith vs. science | major | Joan held to her faith in the visions even when the learned men argued logically that they must be of the Devil because they said so and they were wiser than her. |
| loyalty to a cause | major | Joan maintained her loyalty to king and God throughout |
| war | major | the backdrop of the trial was the war with France, in which Joan had been a commander, but was now captured by the English |
| coping with being tortured | minor | we were shown closeups of torture devices and must ponder what it would be like |