Joan of Arc
France 1999
Reviewed by Ginette Vincendeau
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
Domrémy, France, 1420. Eight-year-old Joan's village is pillaged by rampaging English soldiers. Joan witnesses the brutal rape and murder of her sister. Ten years later, this trauma as well as divine inspiration (materialised by voices and apparitions) propel the deeply religious Joan to seek out the Dauphin Charles, the disinherited heir to the throne. Her voices tell her to rid France of the English and put Charles - confined to a court in Chinon by the Duke of Burgundy in alliance with the English - back on the throne. Partly thanks to the manoeuvres of Charles' mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon, Joan is assigned an army.
Her army defeats the English at Orléans and the Dauphin is crowned Charles VII at Reims cathedral in 1429. Joan wants to throw the English out of France but the king and his entourage withdraw their support. Joan's army is defeated at Paris and Compiègne. She is captured by the Burgundians who sell her to the English. In Rouen, she is tried by the Church for heresy. Under pressure she signs a confession but as she recants she is accused of witchcraft. She is burned at the stake in 1431.
Review
Since the 1898 film L'Exécution de Jeanne d'Arc, which condensed in a few minutes her trial and burning, there have been innumerable films about Joan of Arc. Some are classics, such as Carl Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1927), Roberto Rossellini's Joan of Arc at the Stake (1954), Otto Preminger's Saint Joan (1957), Robert Bresson's The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962) and Jacques Rivette's Jeanne La Pucelle (1994). In addition there are numerous historical accounts, novels, plays, operas and paintings about Joan, who has always been an object of fascination and controversy. Politically she has been claimed by both the left and the right, including Le Pen's National Front. She has been an equally ambiguous figure for the Church, who accused her of heresy and then canonised her in 1920.
On the evidence of Joan of Arc, Luc Besson is not interested in these debates. His Joan is neither a political catalyst nor a mystic. As we might expect from his track record, her story becomes a spectacle but, despite the 1,500 extras and 200 horses, a surprisingly dull one. Besson's Joan is an uneasy mix of cinéma du look and 'new heritage' film. La Reine Margot and Elizabeth are two examples of such new heritage movies, ones which introduced sex, gore and grunge into the hitherto refined genre. The opening sequence here encapsulates this clash: young Joan dances ecstatically, Sound of Music-style, through the fields just before filthy soldiers rape and murder her sister.
The battle scenes have their gory quota of ravaged bodies and beheadings as well as the odd crude joke. But they lack the streamlined brilliance of Besson's action pieces in, say, Nikita, Léon or The Fifth Element. His showy trademarks appear here and there: striking compositions with Joan's face in extreme close-up and her army in the background; the camera-as-arrow (recalling the camera-as-bullet in Nikita). The scene where Joan's virginity is verified is a classic in this respect, with its flashy changes of camera angle, exaggerated sound effects, asymmetrical compositions and polished lighting. Also, Joan of Arc is new heritage in its international cast. British actors play the English and the rest are an assemblage of the usual suspects: John Malkovich hams it up as the Dauphin; Pascal Greggory and Vincent Cassel, who appeared in La Reine Margot and Elizabeth respectively, play two of Joan's captains; Faye Dunaway's Yolande d'Aragon is a cover version of Virna Lisi in La Reine Margot (those scheming mothers-in-law!). None of the film's faults would matter if it had a strong Joan. Besson frames his star Milla Jovovich with stunning close-ups and poses her inspirationally on horseback. But if Jovovich is pretty enough to withstand the haircut, she lacks charisma. And where, for example, Renée Falconetti in Dreyer's film and Sandrine Bonnaire in Rivette's radiated intensity during the trial, Jovovich just seems neurotic and shrill.
Erasing her mystical dimension, Besson has turned Joan into a 15th-century Nikita, the Babe of Orléans, a dangerous phallic virgin who nevertheless cries because "underneath she is vulnerable." Nikita's massive gun is swapped for a sword, both weapons imbued with heavy-handed significance. Replacing the religious dilemmas of Joan (the earlier films' focus) with psychology is not in itself uninteresting and could have been developed further. The jury is still out on Joan of Arc's exact historical significance, but as a heroine - virgin, tomboy, religious fanatic, tragic victim of male authority - she is a potent myth. Besson's film neither sheds new light on her nor succeeds in entertaining much in the telling of her extraordinary story.
Credits
- Director
- Luc Besson
- Producer
- Patrice Ledoux
- Screenplay
- Andrew Birkin
- Luc Besson
- Director of Photography
- Thierry Arbogast
- Editor
- Sylvie Landra
- Production Designer
- Hugues Tissandier
- Music/Music Conductor
- Eric Serra
- ©Gaumont
- Production Companies
- Columbia Pictures and Gaumont present
- a Gaumont production
- Executive Producer
- Leeloo Productions
- Executive Production
- Czech Republic:
- Okko Production
- Executive Producers:
- Marc Jenny
- Oldrich Mach
- Co-producer
- Bernard Grenet
- Production Co-ordinator
- Véronique Zimmer
- Production Managers
- Patrick Millet
- Thierry Guilmard
- Czech Republic:
- Michal Prikryl
- Location Managers
- Didier Hoarau
- Marc Guidetti
- Thierry Crepin
- Bobane Veselinovic
- Stephane Reus
- Vladimir Houbart
- Arnaud Le Roch
- Yves Bogdan
- Arnaud Putman
- Mark Dykmeyer
- Fabrice Champion
- 2nd Unit Directors
- Gérard Krawczyk
- Jean-Paul Meurisse
- Pascal Chaumeil
- Assistant Directors
- Stephanie Gluck
- Frederic Garson
- Stephanie Moreno Carpio
- 2nd Unit:
- Anne Gilles
- Laurent Bregeat
- Czech Republic:
- Dusan Vodak
- Script Supervisors
- Aruna Villiers
- 2nd Unit:
- Donatienne de Gorostarzu
- Julie Vasconi
- Casting
- Lucinda Syson
- French:
- Nathalie Cheron
- Children:
- Juliana Reis-Peronne
- Nathalie Guillaume
- US:
- Todd Thaler
- 2nd Unit Directors of Photography
- Jean-Pierre Sauvaire
- Gérard Sterin
- Camera Operators
- 2nd Unit:
- Bertrand Chatry
- Jean-Paul Meurisse
- Camera Helicopter Crew:
- Dominique Gentil
- Steadicam Operators
- Michel Rodas
- Pierre Morel
- Digital Visual Effects
- Duboi
- Visual Effects Director:
- Pitof
- Visual Effects Supervisor:
- Alain Carsoux
- Visual Effects Production Manager:
- Pascal Giroux
- Matte Painting Directors:
- Jean-Marie Vives
- Stephanie Dargent
- Veronique Zylberfain
- 3D Supervisor:
- Nicolas Rey
- Transfer/Digitalization Manager:
- Karine Marchanou
- Research/Development Manager:
- Rip O'Neil
- Visual Effects Shooting Supervisor:
- Fifine Domer
- Visual Effects Production:
- Delphine Le Roch
- Visual Effects Executive Producer:
- Antoine Simkine
- Special Effects
- Supervisor:
- Georges Demétrau
- Head Set:
- Grégoire Delage
- Technicians:
- Alain Couty
- Jean-Claude Dauphinot
- Denis Duplex
- Oliver Zeneski
- Pascal Fauvelle
- Modelmaker Supervisor
- Gilles Guerber
- Art Director
- Czech Republic:
- Alain Paroutaud
- Set Decorators
- Alain Pitrel
- Robert Le Corre
- Costume Designer
- Catherine Leterrier
- Costume Supervisors
- Olivier Beriot
- Thierry Delettre
- Anne David
- Patrick Lebreton
- Wardrobe
- Karen Serreau
- Marie Trimouille
- Laurence Nicolas
- Make-up Artists
- Magali Ceyrat
- Marianne Colette
- Czech Republic:
- Ivana Chlostova
- Special Effects Make-up/
Hairstylist Supervisor - Kuno Schlegelmilch
- Special Effects Make-up/
Co-ordinating Artist - Fabrice Herbert
- Hair/Wig Stylists
- Christine Leaustic
- Ghislaine Tortereau
- Fabienne Bressan
- Nathalie Champigny
- Titles
- Cinécool
- Synthetic Music Performer/Conductor
- Eric Serra
- Symphonic Music Performed by
- The London Session Orchestra
- The Metro Voices
- Synthetic Music Orchestrations
- Geoffrey Alexander
- Music Recorders
- Ulrich Schneider
- Synthetic Music
- Didier Lozahic
- Music Mixer
- Didier Lozahic
- Soundtrack
- "My Heart Calling" by Eric Serra, Noa, performed by Noa
- Sound Designer
- Vincent Tulli
- Sound Recording
- Vincent Tulli
- 2nd Unit:
- Yunus Acar
- Re-recording Mixers
- François Groult
- Bruno Tarrière
- ADR
- Engineers:
- Bruno Tarrière
- François Groult
- Digital Editing Supervisor
- Michael E. Phillips
- Foley
- Artist:
- Jérôme Levy
- Engineers:
- Bruno Tarrière
- François Groult
- Historical Adviser
- Olivier Bousy
- Horse Stunts Supervisor
- Mario Luraschi
- Stunt Supervisor
- Philippe Guégan
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Czech Republic:
- Jiri Kuba-Ipon
- Armourers
- Terry English
- Glenn English
- Michael Johnson
- Neil Pinnell
- James Pardoe
- Production Horse Co-ordinator
- Czech Republic:
- Marketa Hodousková
- Camera Helicopter Crew Pilot
- Roland Ory
- Cast
- Milla Jovovich
- Joan of Arc
- John Malkovich
- Charles VII
- Faye Dunaway
- Yolande of Aragon
- Dustin Hoffman
- The Conscience
- Pascal Greggory
- The Duke of Alençon
- Vincent Cassel
- Gilles de Rais
- Tchéky Karyo
- Dunois
- Richard Ridings
- La Hire
- Desmond Harrington
- Aulon
- Timothy West
- Cauchon
- Rab Affleck
- comrade
- Stéphane Algoud
- look out
- Edwin Apps
- bishop
- David Bailie
- David Barber
- English judges
- Christian Barbier
- captain
- Timothy Bateson
- English judge
- David Begg
- nobleman, Rouen's castle
- Christian Bergner
- captain
- Andrew Birkin
- Talbot
- Dominic Borrelli
- English judge
- John Boswall
- old priest
- Matthew Bowyer
- the bludgeoned French soldier
- Paul Brooke
- Domrémy's priest
- Bruce Byron
- Joan's father
- Charles Cork
- Vaucoulers's priest
- Patrice Cossoneau
- captain
- Tony d' Amario
- Compiègne's mayor
- Daniel Daujon
- church's peer, coronation
- Tonio Descanvelle
- Xaintrailles
- Philippe Du Janerand
- Dijon
- Sylviane Duparc
- Mary of Anjou's lady's companion
- Barbara Elbourn
- the aunt
- Christian Erickson
- La Tremoille
- Tara Flanagan
- woman, Rouen's castle
- Bruno Flender
- Poitiers inquisitor
- Serge Fournier
- church's peer, coronation
- David Gant
- The Duke of Bedford
- Sydney Golder
- cell's guard
- Jessica Goldman
- Duchess of Bedford's lady's companion
- Framboise Gommendy
- Joan's mother
- Robert Goodman
- blackbeard
- Jean-Pierre Gos
- Laxart
- Joanne Greenwood
- Catherine
- Bernard Grenet
- Senlis bishop
- Valerie Griffiths
- the hag
- Timothee Grimblat
- The Conscience as a child
- Richard Guillé
- English guard, Rouen's castle
- Thierry Guilmard
- assessor
- Jerome Hankins
- nobleman, Rouen's castle
- Jacques Herlin
- Orleans priest
- Len Hibberd
- comrade
- Didier Hoarau
- assessor
- Vera Jakob
- woman at the cemetery
- Michael Jenn
- The Duke of Burgundy
- Toby Jones
- English judge
- Gérard Krawczyk
- church's peer, coronation
- Richard Leaf
- The Conscience, as a young man
- Franck Lebreton
- assessor
- Joseph Malerba
- Beaurevoir's guard
- Dominique Marcas
- Poitiers inquisitor
- Eric Mariotto
- young monk
- René Marquant
- Rouen priest
- Carl McCrystal
- Glasdale
- Gina McKee
- The Duchess of Beford
- Phil McKee
- readbeard
- Simon Meacock
- the teeth soldier
- John Merrick
- Regnault de Chartres
- Joseph O'Conor
- Poitiers chief inquisitor
- Quentin Ogier
- Louis
- Kevin O'Neill
- scribe at process
- Melanie Page
- young girl in bath
- Brian Pettifer
- the executioner/
- torturer at process
- Philip Philmar
- English judge
- Enne Piat
- monk at coronation
- Irving Pomepui
- Louis XI, aged 5 years
- Brian Poyser
- English judge
- Olivier Rabourdin
- Richemont
- Vincent Regan
- Buck
- René Remblier
- Dijon's assistant
- Joseph Rezwin
- Poitiers inquisitor
- Ralph Riach
- English judge
- Mark Richards
- La Hire
- Malcolm Rogers
- bishop
- Tara Römer
- Gamaches
- Julie-Anne Roth
- young girl in bath
- Olga Sekulic
- Mary of Anjou
- Joseph Sheridan
- canon
- Eric Tonetto
- captain
- Vincent Tulli
- Orleans physician
- Jane Valentine
- Joan, aged 8 years
- Jemima West
- girl
- Tat Whalley
- Raymond
- Peter Whitfield
- English judge
- Frédéric Witta
- Poitiers inquisitor
- Certificate
- 15
- Distributor
- Columbia TriStar Films (UK)
- 14,193 feet
- 157 minutes 42 seconds
- Dolby/SDDS/DTS
- In Colour
- Anamorphic [Technovision]