Événement

Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc

Wed Apr 18: 7.30pm
Thu Apr 19: 7.15pm

Bruno Dumont
France
2017
1h 45m

About
Feast your eyes and ears on the truly original rock-opera about the young Joan of Arc by French filmmaker Bruno Dumont (Lil Quinquin). Set in 1425, eight-year-old Jeannette is tending to her sheep when she becomes fed up with the suffering caused by the English. Confiding in her friend Hauviette but discouraged by the nun Madame Gervaise (hilariously embodied by a pair of identical twins), Jeannette finds that she must follow her true path, ultimately to become Joan of Arc. Entirely sung, with a cappella dialogue, and accompanied by an electro-metal score, Dumont creates a unique and wildly energetic take on Joans pre-adolescent years.

Set on the coast, with a lot of sand to kick during the dance numbers, Jeanette, The Childhood of Joan of Arc utilizes a stripped-down setting to focus on the actors and the intense emotions that they are singing about. Leading with a stellar performance is newcomer Lise Leplat Prudhomme, who is able to maintain the energy needed for such a pivotal role. Genuinely funny, strange and purposefully out of time, Dumont brings a fresh take to the chronicled life of Joan of Arc, one that is truly unlike anything that you have seen.

After all, the line between headbanging and praying is perhaps more pervious than one would think, and what emerges from Jeannette is something like a divine faith in the power of film to capture Joan of Arcs gradual spiritual awakening. Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

this is a strange and forthright cinematic object with considerable rough-hewn charm. Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily