Film Review
The second part of Jacques Rivette's epic five and half hour long
account of the life and death of Joan of Arc picks up where the first
part ended and follows the tragic decline of Joan from her great
victories against the English to her ignominious execution at
Rouen. Despite its daunting length,
Jeanne la Pucelle II - Les prisons
is easily one of Rivette's most compelling and perfectly constructed
films, its austere presentation and naturalistic performances giving it
a harrowing sense of reality that is rarely achieved in historical
dramas.
As in the first part,
Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les Batailles,
the film disappoints only in its battle sequences , which are
borderline ridiculous. It is hard not to cringe at the depiction
of Joan's assault on Paris, in which the heroine fearlessly leads an
army of six or seven not very convincing soldiers to an inevitable
defeat. Thankfully, most of the battles are narrated rather than
enacted and so Rivette conceals his budgetary constraints more
effectively here than in the first part. Indeed, there are
a few sequences which make this appear to be a lavish production.
Most spectacular is the coronation scene, a stunning piece of pomp and
pageantry which makes a stark contrast with the bleak austerity seen in
the rest of the film.
However, what makes this film so powerful, so memorable, is not its
grand set-piece but the accumulation of the more intimate scenes that
explore the psychology and personality of the principal
character. Rivette suggests that Joan's ability to motivate her
armies came not from a personal disorder (such as a rampaging hormonal
imbalance or a wild Napoleon complex) but rather from the more noble
human qualities - her humanity, her faith and her pride in her
nation. In an outstanding performance, Sandrine Bonnaire portrays
Joan not as a single-minded headstrong warrior but as an ordinary young
woman who finds herself in an extraordinary position through what she
believes to be a divine calling.
It is the ordinariness of this characterisation of Joan that makes her
fall from grace all the more heartrending. Where other film
portrayals of Joan of Arc fall down is in failing to present the
central character as a convincing human being - some depict a fearless
warmonger, others a saint. Rivette's Joan is likely to be much
nearer to historical fact, an ordinary girl who was driven by an
unfaltering belief in her vocation, someone who had the personal
qualities to win the respect and support of anyone, but who was perhaps
too naive and trusting to avoid ending up as a pawn in a cruel game of
political intrigue. Jacques Rivette's film is certainly the most
thorough and realistic screen account of the Joan of Arc story to
date. It may also be fair to say that it is the most authoratative,
the one that gives us the truest portrayal of the great historical
heroine who is known simply as The Maid.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Jacques Rivette film:
Secret défense (1998)
Film Synopsis
After her victory at Orleans, Joan of Arc is emboldened to continue her
assault against the English armies. Despite the ambivalence of
the Dauphin and his advisers, she galvanises her troops and victory
follows victory. Soon a path is cleared to Reims, where the
Dauphin may be crowned Charles VII, King of France. But the
war is far from over. Joan knows that the English will not be
beaten until she has taken Paris, the greatest challenge she has faced
so far. But the town is well defended and the King no longer has
much enthusiasm for war. Having commanded Joan to give up her
attack on Paris, Charles negotiates a treaty with his old enemies, the
Burgundians, so that peace may once again prevail across
France. Deprived of her once loyal companions in arms, Joan
continues her campaign against the English, with diminishing
success. Captured by the Burgundians at Compiègne, she is
sold to the English by Jean de Luxembourg. Joan is put on trial
for heresy and is told that unless she renounces her misguided beliefs
she will be burnt as a sorceress. Appalled by this prospect, Joan
has no choice but to abjure. And so begins her hellish period in
captivity at the hands of the English, the prelude to her brutal
martyrdom...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.