Tiny Blondie wrote:Aesthetically the film is superb (landscape, light,…), but for such a classical theme (Joanne of Arc), the approach could/should have been more traditional.
It vaguely reminded me of another mystical movie : Angyali üdvözlet, also playing with religious symbols.
https://www.first-loves.net/forums/view ... %C3%B6zlet
YAY!! I FINALLY watched this film.
Director Bruno Dumont had his tongue planted VERY firmly in his cheek with this movie. In fact, I'm surprised there wasn't an uproar from the religious community. (Actually, I have no earthly idea; there might have been..
) There were things that ALL the characters said, lines that could have been lifted straight out of a Monty Python movie ['Life of Brian' the main one I have in mind], that almost seem to mock their actual beliefs and faith... This is most definitely NOT one to watch w/out subs; VERY wordy.
Overall a well-made though very abstract and strangely told re-imagining of some pivotal moments in young Jeannette's life...
Yet; I'll have to admit, after viewing it, that it is NOT one of my favorite movies.
But my problems differ quite a bit from the problems Tiny Blondie had with it. (As far as the actress playing 'Jeannette', Lise Leplat Prudhomme; I adored her and was entranced watching her EVEN when what she was singing/saying was boring me to lethargy..
I thought she carried her role well, she had a great little singing voice and despite the fact she was obviously NOT a seasoned actress, her character kept me engaged whenever she was onscreen.)
MY Problems with the film:
First off; the movie is totally missnamed [imo]: Jeannette, l'enfance de Jeanne d'Arc or [in English] Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc.
This movie did NOT deal with her 'childhood'. A more appropriate title might have been:
Jeannette: Defining Moments in Her Childhood
That is essentially what this movie was. Six to seven instances in her life where her entreating and praying for guidance in the matters that weighed heavy on her heart, brought her to make decisions that would direct her path in her older years.
The next problem I had was the amount of repetitious dialog/exposition about how the characters felt. That wasn't the actors fault, that's totally the script given them... (Unless Dumont had them improvise most of it... THEN it would be on them..
)
Finally what REALLY bugged me was the changing of actresses when they went to the older Jeanne. This was supposed to be a movie about her 'childhood', and then she up and grows up two-thirds into the film. But even THAT wasn't the biggest problem with the actress change for me..
What I had the biggest trouble with were their
teeth. The differences between them. Lise Leplat Prudhomme, love her to death, has two HUGE front teeth, the one on the left [her right] tilts slightly left and is a tad shorter.
[Image]
Jeanne Voisin, on the other hand, has PERFECT teeth. (It's hard to really tell in the picture I've provided, but I couldn't find a better one.)
[Image]
Due to the large amount of close-up shots the director loved to make this difference was glaringly obvious to me every time the older Jeanne opened her mouth.
Obviously back in those days, there was no cosmetic dentistry [ie: little Jeannette could not have possibly gotten her teeth worked on] and THAT was a hurtle I just couldn't get over...
ALSO as lovely as Jeanne Voisin is, she didn't light up the screen quite the same as Lise Leplat Prudhomme. (Can you see what I mean in the publicity photo of them above? Something in Lise's Mona Lisa-ish smile...)
All that and the fact the Dumont seems to love scenes that ramble on [almost improvisation-ally] and don't exactly go anywhere. I guess that's his 'style', his 'trademark'.. (Take time to watch 'Li'l Quin Quin' or the sequel, 'Coin-Coin', you'll see what I'm talking about..)
THOSE are pretty much the reasons this film doesn't quite make my 'Favorites' list...
*WHEW* I'm done.
kev.
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