Church Militant, Church Triumphant (Danping Long)

 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:  ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,  ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not [a]tempt the Lord your God.’ ”   

When Joan was asked about God's promise to her, she is forced to make a public announcement about her private agreement with God, which amounts to tempt her God. If Joan names a specific day and time of God's fulfilling his promise, then there will be a room full of witnesses counting on God's miracle. She consequently will lose her faith, because in this fashion, instead of letting faith producing miracle, she is using the promised miracle as a leverage to prove the righteousness of her God. Thereby Joan answers, "That has nothing to do with your trail." 

Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:  ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship  and him alone shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him. (Matthew 4:4)

Her answer proves that she is a believer, but what concerns people in The Passion of Joan of Arc is not her private relationship with god, but rather her political identity, that is, an excellent military commander. The earthly kingdom, which was refused by Jesus as the third temptation, now is pursued by Joan. Her Christendom is not a paradise where everyone is satisfied with their current position, but an ongoing war against evil, to be exact, against the English occupation. Her influence over a powerful earthly army is the only reason English soldiers are interested in her trail. And as soon as her faith becomes a political concern, no one is allowed to hold personal opinions any more.

Therefore the Judge asks Joan, out of political considerations, "Shouldn't we let the judges decide?" and further, "Do you want to put on a vote?"

Everyone in the room has raised their hand as the camera rolls back. At the back seat, there is one priest who is hesitant to decide, but he too is not allowed to have a particular opinion -- under the gaze of the prime Judge, he has to raise his hand and bear the weight of questioning God's promise. 

Another scene which draws my attention is in the torture chamber. The three wardens laugh, mimic, play with the crown, as if they are three buffoons on the stage of a freak show. Joan is not surprised by their behavior, perhaps she is used to it -- outside the prison wall, people are doing something quiet similar, the only difference may be that when Joan stops suffering, people no longer pay attention to her crown, to the obvious symbol that brings her both miracles and miseries. The freak show will continue, no matter inside or outside the prison, before or after her death sentence, the only difference is that if Joan suffers, her crown is still at the center of the freak show; and when she gives in, her crown will be tossed upside down in the dust bin. 

Before people sweeps away the crown, Joan has hope for life. After all, her corporal existence is not nothing. She can do so much more, if time grants -- she can keep fighting, she can make more people believe, all by the name of God -- so who knows if caving in political pressure is not aligned with God's will? But no one believes in God when Joan stays alive. Their freak show is ongoing, but no one pays any attention to the divine. No one cherishes Joan's laborious piety which leads her to the trail -- for if she is safe in the prison, why bother fighting any war for her? From the moment of confessing her crime, Joan no longer is the daughter of God, but only a mortal isolated from her society. Even if there were people who believe in Joan, since they haven't established their own private relationship with God, they will forget about the divine war Joan is calling them to fight for once Joan stops making influence in the society. Hence through the flipped crown, Joan comes to understand her destiny: she needs to die, not for destroying the earthly freak show and summoning paradise on earth, but to join the freak show, and to spotlight the symbol of crucifixion, through the flame of her martyrdom.

 


Comments

  1. Krishnan VenkateshNovember 28, 2021 at 9:03 AM

    That's interesting. So as a human being, complex and impenetrable, she is nothing to others -- "just a face." And the impulse of the film is to burn up this face in a conflagration, so that it becomes a symbol, a representation of some view, and then take its place in the freakshow -- which is constituted by distortions of face and body

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Noriko and Neglect by Sylas Davidson

Image
     Noriko is highlighted throughout the film and by its viewers for her kindness, her compassion.  She is the only person to take a genuine interest in Tomi and Shūkichi, seemingly outside  of obligation and without patronization.  However, she also seems to rely on tradition to guide her behaviour, taking guidelines as strict rules, to the point of possibly sacrificing her personal happiness. This is most obvious with her continued devotion to her husband, Shōji, and his photo. It’s a little hard to see, but Shōji’s photo appears to be on the top of a simple cabinet or wardrobe with a candle to one side. There doesn’t seem to be anything else, at least not anything easily identifiable, that would  make this a family altar. This appears to be a shrine to Shōji, instead of an altar for worship. Noriko  might not be particularly religious, but she still appears to havecreated an altar, and instead of it being  a place for ...
Read more

The editing skills in Chungking Express

 Editing Tempo: The editing of the film is strange. Wang’s camera looks like time-lapse photography, which creates a weird tempo of the film. The camera moves really fast when the blonde woman and the first cop are running. The fast running, neon light, and time-lapse effect create a dizzy feeling. The opening shot closely follows the blonde woman. After the fast shot, it is a still shot of some chimneys. Only clouds are moving. Then, we have a fast shot of the first cop, 233 runs. He bumped into a man that carries a fake blonde woman. 233 starts to pay attention to the blond fake man. Suddenly, he starts to chase a man whose head is covered by a paper bag. The camera moves to the opposite street and the audience can only see 233 running but the side walkers are all blended into a time-lapsed blurry background. When the camera follows the running 233, it moves very quickly; when the shot is taken across the street, it moves very slowly. These two points of view are alternating...
Read more

Why Watch Movies Anyway? An illustrated double feature. Lozuaway McComsey

Image
Why do we even watch movies? Shouldn’t we be reading, or making something, making love, eating or, best of all, sleeping? What is it about movies that keeps me awake? Literally, why do I lose sleep to watch them (and also, to be fair, the occasional novel)? There is something magical, and more encompassing, than say, looking at a painting or photograph or, yes, reading. And which is the nearest thing to a movie? Pictures, paintings or photos, as a movie is made of a bunch of them (and yes, there is a movie that is entirely painted frames—it’s about van Gogh.) Or novels with their stories? Or is it a soundtrack?  Because the first thing is, movies have audio, which of course, music also has. But I’m not one for listening to music. It’s background noise. I'd rather nap or let my mind wander for 90 seconds before starting something. Ozu, generally, uses music like the 90s food pyramid said to use fats and sugar: sparingly. It’s awesome. Sometimes it adds to the...
Read more