On Wednesday, I watched a movie at the "Present Image Living Room" in Xiamen. The movie shocked me no less than Diary of a Country Priest. After watching the movie, I discussed a lot, which was very interesting.
The film materials have historical prototypes, and a series of dialogues in the courtroom can be confirmed in the archaeological materials, but the rejection and selection of historical materials is a kind of creation in itself. In the trial part, Bresson used a documentary-like approach, with the camera switching between Joan of Arc and the trial side in parallel. In fact, whether it was the Pope or the military, the reason why they suppressed Joan of Arc forcefully was essentially out of fear that authority would be overstepped. And its fear is presented in a powerful way, so the more the judge suppresses Joan of Arc, the more reversely confirms its inherent weakness. For example, they would try to force Joan of Arc to wear women's clothes. Men's clothes are a symbol of similar strength to them. When they cannot disintegrate Joan of Arc head-on, they adopt the method of gender.
Whether Joan of Arc really saw the angels as stated, I don't know, but I don't think Bresson was actually interested. In her view, the significance of Joan of Arc was that she subverted some theocratic dictatorship, and she confirmed that communication with God did not require the Pope, which was offensive at the time.
Of course, these are all documentary-like shooting methods. Bresson, while seemingly calm, actually completed a superb personal lens language, expressing the Joan of Arc he understood. When Joan of Arc was imprisoned, she would use a fixed shot to shoot down the stairs in the direction of the trial, but at the end, when Joan of Arc was tied to the stake, the only upside-down shot in the film appeared. During the adjournment of the previous trial, Bresson shot Joan of Arc's feet in a chain with a fixed camera, and the step up was slow and heavy; The unbuttoned anklet was photographed in the way, and then, Joan of Arc walked towards the stake in a fast and fragmented manner, where the rhythm became faster and lighter. This means that, in Bresson's view, Joan of Arc achieved a reversal of the relationship between trial and being judged through trial, and Joan of Arc, with her firm belief in "I believe" (although she also betrayed briefly, human beings are fleshly bodies) , but people still yearn for divinity) to pierce the hypocrisy and powerlessness of the pope. On the surface, Joan of Arc was sentenced to be burned at the stake, but in fact Joan of Arc defended the meaning of "I believe" in this way, that is, "I" renounced the Pope and the Queen still has existential significance. This can understand why Joan of Arc's footsteps are so brisk at the end. Although she is heading for death, she has gained a kind of freedom that she has never had before, from her body to her mind. This freedom means new life to her. Then a weak dog appeared, the dog's point of view was switched to the shot of Joan of Arc, all the voice-overs were canceled, the two priests held the cross high, the shot switched from the burning Joan of Arc to the cross stretched high in the sky, the smoke (in fact, or soul) haunt the cross, and then the birds appear. At the burning scene, Bresson presented a clear and pure picture, a world almost divine.
The synchronicity of Bresson's films is also reflected in this. The spectator and Joan of Arc shared the trial and the death from death, and obtained the shock of the soul in the shared experience.
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