Renée Jeanne Falconetti[1] (July 21, 1892 – December 12, 1946), sometimes credited as Maria Falconetti,[2] Marie Falconetti,[3] Renée Maria Falconetti,[4][5] or, simply, Falconetti, was a French stage and film actress, notable for her role as Joan of Arc in Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 silent film, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc.
Born in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, Falconetti became a stage actress in Paris in 1918. By the time Dreyer watched her act in an amateur theater and selected her as his leading lady in his up-and-coming production La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, she was already a celebrated stage artiste, and had appeared in one film, La Comtesse de Somerive (1917), directed by Georges Denola and Jean Kemm. Her portrayal of Joan of Arc in La Passion is widely considered one of the most astonishing performances ever committed to film, and it would remain her final cinematic role. According to film critic Roger Ebert, Dreyer's method of directing his actors pushed Falconetti to emotional collapse:
For Falconetti, the performance was an ordeal. Legends from the set tell of Dreyer forcing her to kneel painfully on stone and then wipe all expression from her face--so that the viewer would read suppressed or inner pain. He filmed the same shots again and again, hoping that in the editing room he could find exactly the right nuance in her facial expression.[6]
After filming La Passion, Falconetti continued with her career as a producer of light stage comedies, appearing with the Comédie-Française. During the Second World War, she escaped from France first to Switzerland, and then left for Buenos Aires, Argentina where she lived until her death in 1946.[7] Her remains are interred at Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.
"Renee Falconetti" is the fourth poem in Patti Smith's book kodak.