The Passion of Joan of Arc
March 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Art House Billings
FREE
Our friends and sponsors at local art gallery and community space, Kirks Grocery, have suffered a loss. Mary Serbe's former Chicago professor, Craig Harshaw, has passed away, and Mary is choosing to celebrate his life with a FREE ADMISSION screening of his favorite film, Carl Theodor Dreyer's silent 1928 historic drama masterpiece, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, at Art House Cinema and Pub Sunday, March 9th! Craig was known as an artist and an activist with an unmatched drive for creation and change, heavily impacting Mary and countless other students' view on the arts and the world around them. Shortly before his passing, Craig created a massive list of his 400 favorite films, and this film was at the very top of the list. Taking this film as Craig's epitome of art and activism, Mary has chosen this film in order to honor his memory. She says that it doesn't matter if you never met him, but that he would have wanted you to see this film for your own sake!
An absolute classic of the silent era, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC tells the legendary story of the doomed 15th century teenage warrior who has become an iconic martyr for centuries to come, still reflected upon today. A patron saint of France, Joan of Arc is put on trial for claiming she had spoken to God, leading her to participate in the Siege of Orleans under the guise of a man in order to help her country. Ridiculed and subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of the church, Joan of Arc is abused as she is urged to change her story, but she stands by what she sees as the truth, result in a famously brutal execution that has permanently placed her as a martyr of liberation.
A gorgeously shot film, full of beautifully somber imagery and cruel narrative, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC has widely been considered one of the very best films of all time for nearly a century, and remains a relevant film today for its heavy, boundary breaking themes of activism, perseverance, misogyny, hypocrisy, and religious irony. It is an absolute must see!
