Taking his material nearly unaltered from transcripts of the trial,
Bresson ostensibly makes little effort to dramatise the tale of the
French heroine. But his sparse and formal compositions complement the
stark sets and subdued performances to create a haunting expression of
both the resignation of absolute faith and the tyranny of medieval
religion. Florence Carrez' performance inevitably lacks the
intensity of Marie Falconetti's interpretation in Dreyer's great
Passion of Joan of Arc, and the film is as a whole less intense and complex
than Bresson's finest works. But it's still powerful viewing.
