The Trial of Joan of Arc

1962, Robert Bresson, 65', French dialogue

A realistic reconstruction of the trial of Joan of Arc based entirely on the real-life transcripts of the proceedings, The Trial of Joan of Arc depicts the heroine’s imprisonment, interrogation, and final execution at the hands of the English in a spare, low-key style. The story of Joan of Arc is one of history’s greatest tales: a fifteenth century peasant girl turned leader of an unsuccessful revolt who is subsequently arrested, brought to court, convicted of heresy, and burned as a witch at the age of nineteen. Bresson manages to show the physiological as well as psychological tortures the saint had to endure. Joan of Arc was played by Florence Delay, a non-professional actress, in a stylistic choice representative of Bresson’s simplicity and restraint.

French film Robert Bresson is an influential figure in the French New Wave movement renowned for his unique aesthetic style. Fellow director Jean-Luc Godard once wrote, "Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is the German music." His award-winning works include Diary of a Country Priest (1951), A Man Escaped (1956), and The Devil, Probably (1977). Bresson was awarded a Career Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival in 1989.