"The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc)", for example, is arguably the most "voluble" silent movie around. Some people apparently even went as far as to question Dreyer's mental condition. His far-out, novel way of putting together sequences, extreme close-ups, and other tricks must have made people dizzy back when Dreyer first unveiled his films. Even in his later talking pictures, actors remained largely wordless, and thanks to the almost excruciating kind of camera work, the images alone really jaw. As screening rights are about to expire, we won't be able to see Dreyer's movies in Japan for a while, so this is likely to be the last chance to enjoy the "storytelling" qualities of these films.

By Fukasawa Megumi April 16, 2008