Arts & Faith #1: The Passion of Joan of Arc

Scott's introductory comments on the Arts and Faith Top 100 Films List
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Arts and Faith Top 100: #1

The Passion of Joan of Arc is a 1928 French silent film, and it ranks as the top film in the Arts and Faith list. The story recounts the historical events surrounding the heresy trial and execution of Joan of Arc during the 15th century Hundred Years War.  The movie opens immediately to the trial.  There is no prologue of Joan leading an army into battle, or any private wrestling with her visions from God. Even more startling are the numerous close-up shots of Joan wrestling, not with God, but with the jurists who make angry demands of her to recant. At one point she is even taken into the torture room and given a glimpse into what lies in store for her if she does not give in to her interrogators. 

The Passion is a courtroom drama that demonstrates the great faith shown by Joan.  Faith in God is hard enough.  But how difficult would faith be when ecclesiastical leaders are claiming to your face that your visions are from the devil? Despite the fact that the Church leaders question Joan's faith in God, she resists the temptation to give in.

Joan of Arc's story mirrors that of Jesus in many ways.  Just as Jesus endured a trial by the religious leaders of his day, so does Joan.  Jesus' trial ended in his execution, and so does Joan's. These parallels may help account for her enduring popularity as a saint and martyr. The confessors of the early church believed that there was no higher calling from God than to endure the same suffering and death that Jesus countenanced.

This movie challenges its audience to imagine itself in Joan's place.  Would we endure in the face of excommunication and death?  Could we continue to claim divine inspiration for our visions when the religious leaders are convincing us otherwise?  And then there is the gender issue:  How hard is it to be a woman experiencing persecution in a man's world?  It was obvious that Joan's interrogators were offended that a woman was acting like a man. They even shaved her head so that she would look male. I was reminded of how Jesus had a crown of thorns placed on his head, to mock his claim to represent God's kingdom.

The Passion of Joan of Arc is an intense drama about faith in the face of persecution.  It's about being an outsider in the world of the insiders. But most of all, it's a film about suffering. How do we act when we undergo suffering?  Do we wither and fade -- or do we abide in Christ? Joan of Arc chose to abide in Christ, and she received the martyr's crown for her faith.