Robert Bresson apparently detested Carl Dreyer's Jeanne d'Arc Passion play, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, for "grotesque buffooneries", and one would also assume, overt melodrama. With a such a prompt dismissal, Bresson acted as though the 1928 silent film never existed. And with a cast of non-thespians dusted off Jeanne's trial transcripts for a subdued and downplayed retread. As melodrama would seem fitting the story of a young woman imprisoned and confronted with the omnipresent threat of torture, rape and execution, Bresson felt that the French national icon was instead stoic and self-assured of moral victory.
In the performances there is little to give away character thought processes and motivations, particularly from the English actors playing the guards. The additions to the script now have protagonists stating aloud what they intend to do next. And whether it was on Bresson's insistence to avoid melodrama, or the non-professional nature of the cast, those on screen come across as incredibly wooden and lifeless.
Florence Delay as Jeanne delivers the historic lines without feeling or inflection. To use a gauche comparison, Milla Jovovich whilst not giving a better performance in the same role, at least gave A performance. In between court appearances Delay literally has nothing to do but sit on her bed with her hands on her knees. No contemplation, or conversations with God. Whereas Renée Falconetti suffered regular torment from the guards, and had the weaving of a symbolic crown of straw to occupy herself in Dreyer's opus, Delay simply sits still, shuffles between sets, and reads her lines. Everything of course leading to the stake. However, in giving Jeanne self-awareness and fundamentally robbing her of innocence, the burning is anticlimactic.
Bresson's stark minimalism is unbefitting such a reenactment. The film as a whole suffers from early '60s cinematic conventions, and can not avoid unfavourable comparisons with Dreyer's original, which is widely regarded as a masterpiece. Procès is not simply sub par in the realm of Jeanne films, it is also a blight on the prolific career of Robert Bresson.
In the performances there is little to give away character thought processes and motivations, particularly from the English actors playing the guards. The additions to the script now have protagonists stating aloud what they intend to do next. And whether it was on Bresson's insistence to avoid melodrama, or the non-professional nature of the cast, those on screen come across as incredibly wooden and lifeless.
Florence Delay as Jeanne delivers the historic lines without feeling or inflection. To use a gauche comparison, Milla Jovovich whilst not giving a better performance in the same role, at least gave A performance. In between court appearances Delay literally has nothing to do but sit on her bed with her hands on her knees. No contemplation, or conversations with God. Whereas Renée Falconetti suffered regular torment from the guards, and had the weaving of a symbolic crown of straw to occupy herself in Dreyer's opus, Delay simply sits still, shuffles between sets, and reads her lines. Everything of course leading to the stake. However, in giving Jeanne self-awareness and fundamentally robbing her of innocence, the burning is anticlimactic.
Bresson's stark minimalism is unbefitting such a reenactment. The film as a whole suffers from early '60s cinematic conventions, and can not avoid unfavourable comparisons with Dreyer's original, which is widely regarded as a masterpiece. Procès is not simply sub par in the realm of Jeanne films, it is also a blight on the prolific career of Robert Bresson.