Jean De Arc

In watching "The Passion of Jean d'Arc", it was evident from the first thirty minutes of the film that there would be many many close-up shots throughout the whole film. I can honestly say that I haven't seen a film shot the way this was, that I can remember. It was very interesting to see these close-up shots of Joan and the priest's faces throughout the film. It really gives you a different feeling and plays into the viewers' emotions more when shot this way. When I think about exactly why the director decided to shoot this film in this way, there is a few interesting reasons that come to mind. First, and I feel most importantly, is the heightened emotions that the viewer feels from watching so closely the facial expressions of the actors on screen. When the camera is focused so closely upon someone's face, you are not allowed to get distracted by extras in the background, or a passing car, or what have you. Instead, you are forced to focus solely on the facial expressions. I don't believe though that a director alone can achieve heightened emotions from the audience alone without profound acting from all of the actors on screen. This film was able to give you a good sense of what the actors were feeling without them having to say too much dialog. You could especially see this through the main character's acting who portrayed Joan in the film. She was brilliant. You could clearly understand the answers to questions the characters had been asked even when they didn't respond with any dialog. This is another attribute to the close-up shots used in the film. All in all, this film's use of the close-up shot really allowed us to understand the emotions and reactions of the characters.

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