JOAN OF ARC
Jeanne D’Arc, the young French shepherdess also known as the Maid of Orleans, believes that God has chosen her and leads the army for the King of France against England. Despite her loyalty she is tried for heresy and is subsequently burnt at the stake. Her story inspired many writers throughout the centuries as well as filmmakers from the silent era to the present day.
Acclaimed French director Bruno Dumont began his filmography with THE LIFE OF JESUS and continued his illustrious career with subjects dealing with deeply religious themes like HADEWIJCH and CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1918. The main difference to his JEANNE, compared to other films on the subject, is that he chose his protagonist to be played by a ten-year-old, and in Lisa Leplat Prudhomme, he has found a young performer of great intensity and grace. She is particularly effective in the court scenes and is able to handle lots of complicated dialogue with ease and persuasion.
Dumont’s dialogue is adapted from Charles Peguy’s play which like the George Bernard Shaw version it highlights the hypocrisy of the church. The scenes with the soldiers guarding the young Jeanne is prison bring to mind Jean Anouilh’s play “Antigone” another tragic heroine sentenced to death by the state. Intelligent and rewarding! (Digital Release from New Wave)
RESISTANCE
Jonathan Jakubowicz writes and directs a passionate true story set during World War II in the south of France.
Marcel Mangel (Jess Eisenber), is an aspiring Jewish actor who joins the resistance in order to save many orphaned children by crossing the border to Switzerland. Mangel adopts the name Marcel Marceau before he becomes one of the world’s most celebrated mime artists …
Strong production values, eloquently told and watchable despite the fact that it occasionally sinks into sentimentality. (iTunes and Amazon from Vertigo)
ARTEMIS FOWL
This fantasy adventure based on Eoin Colfer’s novel is energetically directed by Kenneth Branagh. He tells the story of Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw), a 12-year-old criminal mastermind, who has inherited his antique dealer father’s (Colin Farrell) gifts, when it comes to ingenuity and resourcefulness. His gifts come to fruition when Senior Fowl gets kidnapped and apparently is abandoned in the South China Seas. Artemis now must enter the magical world of the fairies and find the precious Aculos, the most powerful treasure in fairyland in order to save his father…
Branagh keeps the action going enabled by decent special effects and a fun appearance by Judi Dench as Commander Root of the fairies – “I am going to be 803 in May if you must know,” she proudly announces in one of many action sequences.
The complicated plot may be occasionally too silly to take seriously but overall it is suitable entertainment for the whole family. (Streaming on Disney+)
THE VANISHING
The original 1988 Dutch thriller SPOORLOOS is stunningly directed of George Sluizer, whose stunning adaptation of Tim Krabbe’s novel “The Golend Egg” is an exercise in building suspense and tension in the best Hitchcock tradition. The story follows a young Dutch couple on a holiday in France, where at a service station Saskia (Johanna ter Steege) disappears without a trace leaving Rex (Gene Bervoets) desperate for her whereabouts. His search continues for three years until he begins to receive postcards from a mysterious sender…
It is truly compelling from start to finish and one of the best examples in how a Hollywood remake can change a dark, nightmarish tale into a more pleasing and milder version for American audiences – curiously also directed by Sluizer himself. (Blu-ray from StudioCanal’s Vintage World Cinema Collection)
THE GREAT
This 10 part mini-series written by Tony McNamara is based on his own play and follows the story of Catherine (Elle Fanning) a young German bride, who arrives in Russia in order to marry its Emperor Peter (Nicholas Hoult). But Peter is not so “Great” like his father used to be- on the contrary he is a temperamental, spoiled brat, who seduces every woman in court and kills people at a drop of a hat…
McNamara also penned the Oscar winning THE FAVOURITE and here he creates another eccentric world of a royal household aided with foul language and strong satire. Fanning and Hoult work brilliantly together as the two exact opposites forced to marry by the state despite their dislike for each other. “Women are for seeding not for reading,” he says and later on when someone tries to poison him he declares in total disbelief “It has to be an accident – I am an astonishing emperor.”
Episode 5 is suitably called “War and Vomit” which more or less sums up the whole series adapted from an occasionally true story. It is rude, bawdy and fun! Hussar! (Starzplay)
ON A MAGICAL NIGHT
I first saw Christopher Honore’s imaginative tale at last October’s London Film Festival and on a second viewing I still found Chiara Mastroianni’s luminous performance utterly mesmerising.
Maria has been married for 20 years and feels it is time for some spice despite the fact that she has been often unfaithful to her husband. She moves to a hotel opposite her home and begins to re-examine her life. Fun and unpredictable! (Curzon Home Cinema)
Also out this week:
THE DAY AFTER I’M GONE: A remarkable directorial debut from Nimrod Eldar, whose eloquent screenplay follows the story of Yoram, a vet at a safari park in Tel Aviv. He is a very caring man but seems unable to connect with his 17-year-old daughter Roni, who in a cry for help attempts suicide…It is not as grim as it sounds but an uplifting story of two people lost by circumstances. Worth seeing! (MUBI)
THE ASCENT: This war sci-fi horror follows a group of mercenaries in Eastern Europe and their story unfolds like a GROUNDHOG DAY nightmare where they have to re-live certain events in order to survive…It is a promising premise but unfortunately it is difficult to care much about these characters’ predicament. (iTunes, Amazon, Sky Store)
George Savvides