For the Love of Jeanne (DVR Alert!)

Filmbrain is unashamed to admit to an almost fetishistic fascination with Jeanne d'Arc films. From the sublime (Dreyer's unsurpassed The Passion of Joan of Arc), to the....well, far from sublime (Luc Besson's Joan-as-supermodel-cum-warrior The Messenger), there isn't a tale of the teenaged martyr that doesn't keep him glued to his seat. Why the obsession? Filmbrain can't say for sure. Perhaps it is the unfathomable idea of a 15th century teenage girl who, Guided by Voices, convinces an army of Armagnacs to follow her, and then proceeds to lead them to victory. Or maybe it's the injustice of her politically motivated show trial (she was charged with cross-dressing), and resulting execution by fire. Regardless, the story of the Maid of Orleans is ripe for cinematic interpretation, and there have been many filmed versions, dating as far back as the late 1800s. Some notable entries in the canon: La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928), Carl Theodor Dreyer — Almost universally accepted as the preeminent J of A film. Pauline Kael called Maria Falconetti's performance the greatest ever captured on film, and she might very well be right. Joan of Arc (1948), Victor Flemming — One of two films (see below) that finds Ingrid Bergman portraying the young martyr. A grandiose epic in classic Hollywood style that isn't half-bad, though it does have a certain Gone With the Wind-ish soap-opera quality to it. However, Bergman's performance makes it more than worthwhile. Flemming's final film (he died shortly after its release), it turned out to be a box-office failure that some claim was due to Bergman's affair with Roberto Rossellini — for how can an adulterer play a saint? Giovanna d'Arco al Rogo (1954), Roberto Rossellini — Ingrid B once again in drag, this time in a quasi-musical, set to Paul Claudel and Arthur Honegger's oratorio, Joan at the Stake. A loving gift to his wife, this is one that really deserves a proper DVD release. Saint Joan (1957), Otto Preminger — Filmed version of George Bernard Shaw's play, with a screenplay by Graham Greene. This time it's Jean Seberg as Joan (with the perfect haircut), in her big screen debut. Filmbrain recently purchased the French DVD, but has yet to watch it. Jeanne la Pucelle (1994), Jacques Rivette — An incredibly stripped down version of the story (owing more to budget constraints than by design), Rivette takes an almost documentary approach to the material, which includes "interviews" with those who knew the Mlle. from Domrémy. Told in six hours over two films (The Battles and The Prisons), this is the most detailed account of her story, and Sandrine Bonnaire does an excellent job showing us that before Joan was a saint, she was a young woman fraught with doubt and fear. Rivette gives us a very human Joan, and it's a remarkable pair of films that should be seen back to back. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1988), Stephen Herek — Ok, Bill & Ted may think she's Noah's wife, and she may not do much more than take over an aerobics class, but hey....it's still Joan as played by Jane "Go-Go's" Wiedlin. The Messenger (1999), Luc Besson — One of Filmbrain's guiltiest of pleasures. But then again, any film that has Dustin Hoffman acting as the conscience to Milla Jovovich's Joan (not to mention Vincent Cassel as child serial killer Gilles de Rais), can't be all that bad. One significant film missing from the above list is Robert Bresson's Procès de Jeanne d'Arc from 1962. Though rarely thought of as one of his best, Bresson's short feature (just over sixty minutes) takes as its source the actual trial transcripts to achieve (in Bresson's words) "a non-historical truth by using historical words." Filmbrain has never had the opportunity to see it, but that will soon change as Turner Classic Movies is showing it at the insomniac-friendly time of 2:00 AM tonight, March 10 (Friday night/Saturday morning). Set your DVRs and Tivos, for this is a rare showing of a film that is unavailable on DVD in this country. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the film below.>

Comments

[Campaspe]

Darren, the Seberg doc has long been in my "must see" list. When I was a teenager I saw her in "Lilith" and I was fascinated. She was great in that one, and so beautiful. So I read a (rather exploitative) bio and was even more interested. I have also seen "Bonjour Tristesse" and "Breathless" (of course) and a couple of the later Hollywood flicks, but no Saint Joan.

[yoyoyo]

any mention of philippe garrel in the doc? see his portrait film of her. outstanding.

[goatdog]

I came across an anecdote about Ernst Lubitsch's reaction to Dreyer's film (which I loved) in Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise by Scott Eyman. Lubitsch had this to say about Falconetti's performance: "I didn't believe [Falconetti]. She wasn't the Joan who rallied the routed French and defeated the English. We don't even get a glimpse of that part of her. We see only a despairing Joan." It made me want to watch it again to see if he has a point.

[Matt Hayden]

It's kind of shocking you didn't mention or seem to even know about the existence of the 1999 film, Joan of Arc which was directed by Christian Duguay and starred Leelee Sobiesky.

To me, this is one of the best Joan films ever made and extremely underrated.