The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

"Kiarostami’s world-beating mystery is less about method and meta than the filmmaker usually prefers, but the immediacy of its peril and intimacy of its reality are pure soul glue. Such is the film’s veracity that I didn’t see the three-part schematic construction of it until I’d seen it four times, by which point it ceased to make a difference. The ending, for simply being itself without apologies, is peerless."

"It is the most vexing challenge because I just find that, depending… I’m not so psychotic that my mind changes constantly on that subject, but it really depends on where you are in your life. You sort of have a rolling list of a few dozen that you cherish for different reasons. All you try to do is avoid interviews like this so you don’t get pinned down. [laughs] No, I always have trouble pinning anything to a fixed list. Why is it hard? Is it easy for you? You start thinking about the directors you leave off the list and your heart starts breaking. In chronological order, The Passion of Joan of Arc. The last time I saw that film, it struck as me as if it was an artifact from the period itself that it’s depicting. It was like a medium unto itself, and [Maria] Falconetti’s performance, it really cannot be compared to anything else. It’s beyond naturalism, it’s beyond melodrama, it’s beyond everything. It’s just coming straight out of her soul. But mainly, the last time I saw it I just had this weird time slip kind of experience where I felt like I was really seeing a mad visionary from the time who somehow invented the movie camera. [laughs] Putting on this intense pageant on this subject of intense religious devotion. I find that film a knockout. You can’t watch it lightly, but that’s all right."

"If you know me, you know that I will endorse anything related to this radical teen martyr, whom I consider the original riot grrrl. Dreyer’s take is a beautifully stark and visceral portrait of her final days."

"The next one is a Carl Theodor Dreyer film, The Passion of Joan of Arc, which is just an astounding film. Another film that is so powerful in its representation of human emotions. The film traces the trial of Joan of Arc, but it does so in a way that really gets us to focus on the ways that she’s processing this experience and transcends it through her feeling of connection to God. The lead actress in the film, Maria Falconetti, delivers a performance that… I don’t think anyone has ever delivered a stronger cinematic performance than this one. Dreyer is relentless in his closeups on her; I think 95% of the shots of her are in closeup. The nuances of facial expression that she manages to perform in itself, to give us a sense of all these things that she is feeling that you can’t really say out loud, absolutely remarkable. He does lots of other things in terms of really candid camera angles and disorienting kind of editing patterns that make us feel what her consciousness is experiencing. It’s just one of the classics of world cinema."

"This film is so emotional and breathtakingly beautiful. It’s full of stark, minimalist imagery and the compositions of many scenes are extremely contemporary. It’s chilling and overwhelming, and by far one of the most fascinating films I’ve ever seen."

"I saw this last year for the first time. Can’t believe I’d waited so long. It was the most euphoric moviegoing experience I’ve had in forever. So progressive and singular—the performances, the editing, the compositions, the production design. Just absolutely perfect in every way."