Rouen, Normandy, 1431, during the Hundred Years' War. After being captured by French soldiers from an opposing faction, Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans, is unjustly tried by an ecclesiastical court overseen by her English enemies.
Florence Delay
Jeanne d'Arc
Jean-Claude Fourneau
Bishop Cauchon
Roger Honorat
Jean Beaupere
Marc Jacquier
Jean Lemaitre
Jean Gillibert
Jean de Châtillon
Michel Herubel
Isambert de la Pierre
André Régnier
D'Estivet
Arthur Le Bau
Jean Massieu
Marcel Darbaud
Nicolas de Houppeville
Philippe Dreux
Martin Ladvenu
Paul-Robert Mimet
Guillaume Erard
Gérard Zingg
Jean-Lohier
Director, Screenplay
Robert Bresson
November 10, 2022
7
There is something especially evocative about the way in which this quite short film has been put together by Robert Bresson and Léonce-Henri Burel. In just over an hour, it offers us a startlingly bleak interpretation of the last weeks of Joan of Arc's life, imprisoned, manipulated and subjected to immense amounts of intellectual cruelty by a church and a state that was determined that she should burn - regardless of any guilt or innocence. Florence Delay is very effective in the tital role - probably the best characterisation of this woman I have ever seen. Jean-Claude Fourneau is also at the top of his game as the prosecuting bishop "Cauchon" offering us a vision of a man as devoid of any Christian kindness as it is possible to imagine. Given everyone knows what did happen to this tortured soul, Bresson still manages to elicit a considerable degree of optimism: might things end differently this time? The dialogue is bland. Not in any dull sense, but in a matter-of-fact, non-florid fashion. The photography is basic and almost rudimentary - indeed, that also adds a great deal to the authenticity of just what it might well have been like at the time. If you ever watch any films about this historical event, then this ought to be the one...
Status:
Released
Original Language:
French
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00