Joan the Maid: The Battles/The Prisons

Released in 1994, this two-part version of the oft-told Joan of Arc story by Jacques Rivette (La Belle Noiseuse) is more historical in scope but inferior to Carl Dreyer's intimately personal and spiritual classic 1927 silent The Passion of Joan of Arc. But it certainly beats out the star vehicles of Jean Seberg and Ingrid Bergman, as well as the recent, rather overwrought The Messenger from Rivette's fellow countryman, Luc Besson. With her usual intensity, Sandrine Bonnaire (La Ceremonie, Monsieur Hire) cuts a fine figure as Joan, and the film's beautifully bleak settings are nicely captured in a sharp letterboxed transfer. For the most part, though, the pacing is funereal--making its lengthy running time a bit of an ordeal (although decidedly less so than Joan's). A strong optional purchase. (T. Rich)