Balasz certainly writes eloquently about the close-up in the excerpt from Theory of Film. And I found Maria’s post spoke further to the power of the close-up. But what made it all come alive for me was the excerpt from Joan of Arc that we saw in class this past week.

Almost fairly early on from when we recognize other beings around us, we humans strive to communicate with them, and with the world around us. We further learn to speak, as the primary means of interacting with other human beings. So it was with me.

By the time I started watching films, the talkie was a fixture. I grew to love film, but the only kind I knew and watched was films with dialogue. I have loved many films for their script, and certainly many actors for their dialogue delivery. I have also been guilty of dismissing silent cinema as more comedic, even goofy in a sense.

It is in this context that the comment about unlearning and relearning ((that Professor Herzog discussed), resonated for me. I saw the power of silent cinema – and the close-up – when we watched the sequences from Joan of Arc. I saw the volumes that Falconetti’s face conveyed about the conflict Joan faced, and the poignancy of her situation. I realized I need to unlearn my ideas of film as always being tied to the spoken word, and relearn the language and nuance of silent cinema. I really need to discover this new world!