Joan of Arc

The film Joan of Arc starts with some ambition. And metaphorical shots which probably were meant to add to the movie, in a way or two, which failed drastically and I was almost flabbergasted with all that happened there after. The editing, the shots, the directtion, everything fell apart. Critiques claim, this might be a breakthrough, in filmmaking, or a big fail! Let's see.

Earlier films by Bruno Dumont had some experiments, but to this level, well, okay, we'll have to wait and watch. There is a predecessor to this film, which has the same approach, and the lead actor, which are unprofessional, but that's completely fine, if other ends are fulfilled. But lacking in that part, the film totally falls apart for me.

I found this film ultimately exasperating: not quite funny enough to be funny, or serious enough to be serious, or passionate enough to be about the passion of Joan of Arc. Dumont has produced such brilliant work in the past, and Joan of Arc could well have value as a way station to something else - a work in progress, a career evolution towards a new, tonally complex film-making language. But this film is opaque and unrewarding.

Even though Joan of Arc screened at the Cannes film festival, I don't find a point of passing this through the jury and if so, i don't see a valid reason behind this.

The production seemed tight in budget, the set design and even the actors, let's exclude the child actors the whole cast's acting died for me as they proceeded.

Even the cinematography was okay, probably, there was nothing outstanding in the film, for me.