After the success of Ma Loute and while waiting for season 2 of P'tit Quinquin, Bruno Dumont unveils his new film, initially designed to be a TV movie, then which will end up having 2 different versions: one for TV (the one watched here) and another for cinema. Presented at the Cannes Film Festival, it is now time to review this new film: Jeannette, the childhood of Joan of Arc.
You had to dare. Already revisiting the story of Joan of Arc, taking only the beginnings of her journey, the discovery of her destiny, of which only she is convinced, is already a daring choice. Then turning it into a musical is a rather amazing choice. And, finally, the fact that the music is close to metal and rap at times makes the film one of the most original and strange in French cinema today. The gamble was largely successful and Bruno Dumont succeeded in reconciling French cinema with musicals.
Bruno Dumont, here after an excellent Ma Loute containing a number of stars, returns to his habits and chooses for his casting only non-professional actors. A rare choice, but a habit for Bruno Dumont, a true specialist in recruiting mouths and local talent (we all remember the brilliant Bernard Pruvost in P'tit Quinquin), who once again shows with Jeannette his science of casting.
In terms of his aesthetics, Dumont makes bold choices here. Instead of showing us a land of France devastated by war, he chooses to show us a peaceful and lively nature, little concerned by the clashes. A war, which remains an underlying and rumbling threat. Even if far from the fighting, the characters receive echoes (part of the film takes place during the siege of Orleans) and pray that the war will soon end. Sometimes eccentric and marginal characters, like the Siamese nuns.
In contrast to a destroyed universe, we have a peaceful and very lively world, little disturbed by the brutality and violence of war. With a bluish tint but remaining warm (which corresponds to the color of Jeanette's costumes), the universe depicted by Dumont is that of a peasant world, away from the affairs of the Kingdom. Jeanette is here a young girl plagued by doubts and torn between the impatience to live her destiny and the sadness of leaving her native land. Meanwhile, like a Luke Skywalker from the Middle Ages, she is bored by having to keep her sheep. The only way for her to pass the time is to sing her rage and pound the earth with impatience while dancing. Dance that gives the impression that the actors are possessed and conveys a fascinating energy. An energy that compensates for long monologues that can seem slightly wordy.
Fortunately, to make these long monologues attractive, Dumont varied the musical genres. Thus the music that the filmmaker uses to define his characters is music close to popular music and very far from the scholarly music generally used in films about historical frescoes. A coherent choice knowing the filmography of the director who has always taken care to make films about the working classes.
Finally, a word about Jeanne Voisin, the actress playing Jeannette as a teenager. She exudes a grace and a presence assured, despite the cacophony sometimes ambient, whether at the level of music and songs.
Thus, Bruno Dumont delivers a true musical epic on a strong figure in the history of France. By showing a quasi-desert reality of all human life, the filmmaker allows us to better refocus his story on the dilemma faced by a young girl. A fascinating mental and poetic journey about the acceptance of destiny.
