A milestone in french cinema, Bresson’s acclaimed 1962 film The Trial of Joan of Arc is an archetype of his work: bare, subtle and raw. Shot combining the style of romanticism and German expressionist paintings, angles capture the accused and accusers from below in a dramatic angle. Focussing on their faces, every flinch and eye movement matters – every tear, every nervous swallow is noticed. The Trial of Joan of Arc is a study in stripped back austere filmmaking akin to a documentary visualising history as plainly as possible in order not to bastardise the subject matter through excessive narrative.

Bresson never differed from this style, only employing unprofessional actors, believing that professionals would render a film absurd. To him, the narrative goals would be destroyed by the artificiality of acting, believing overstudied emotions are not the ones he wants to show. The results are compelling, ridding any kind of individuality to capture the style he desires.

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