Joan of Arc - The Battle by Jacques Rivette

This is an almost 3-hour film narrating the story of the growth of Joan and her entry to the war. The film opens with her mother, a nun, recalling her story after Joan is burnt accused of heredity. The story was thereafter narrated by third persons, those who bear direct witness of Joan's life stages. I think this adds to the myth-like nature of the story, that the story of a saint, an immortal, should be retold by mortals to mortals in a way that could be understood by the secular world. That is why the film contains a lot of earthly elements (when Joan tries to cut her hair, learn handwriting, joking with men, etc) which could make this sacred story more comprehensible to ordinary people. Like the story of Jesus in Bible, the figure of saint, since she is living in the earthly world, has to deal with a number of earthly issues. The director tires to distance from a devout awe-filled mode of narration, (thus the joke the light that seems to be emitted from Joan actually comes from her candles). Meanwhile, the director also mocks the highly respected but arrogant professors who interview Joan. Their skepticism of the witness of the uneducated maid and their insistence on the 'accuracy' of her descriptions of her vision are treated with irony and contrasted with Joan's strong faith. The highly-esteemed scholars are criticised for holding their religious views too scholarly and skeptically by asking her in detail how the saints look like, but not holding enough faith in Joan, and in God.

Revitte depicts the tension between people during the conversations very explicitly. Using long shots which clearly presents the physical motions of people when they communicate, the internal struggle of Joan is made more convincing. The interrogation scene, for instance, is comprised of a long take when Joan is alone in the room, and retreats when the huge groups of scholars enter and take their seats. By focusing on the intimidating air inside the room, one can also see Joan's nervousness of getting interviewed.

(from left to right: Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les batailles (1994), imdb.com, Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les batailles (1994), google.com)