A review of a new book on Joan of Arc:
http://www.tnr.com/book/review/the-believer. Good and bad, it seems--good on the details of the trial, bad on fleshing out the historical context. Fascinating figure, Joan. She certainly had her own clarity of vision and being able to seize power and spur on a nation is no small thing, especially given the time. Hard to think of a gal like her. If you ever get the opportunity, watch Theodor Dreyer's, "La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc." It's a silent film made in '28 and Maria Falconetti who plays Joan is damn right both startling and spooky to watch. I think that Dreyer did a fantastic job of capturing what I perceive to be the aura of the time--it's both stark and coldly naked in what must have been the setting of a medieval interrogation. It's made even more effective by the cast of characters he employs--these are clearly Northern Europeans and you just don't see faces and heads like these walking around in Dalhart or Luling. Of course, I was sort of drunk while watching it and it was late one night while flipping through channels and stumbling upon the thing on TCM. Okay, watch if you're buzzed and the wife has conked out and Emmanuelle isn't on Showtime. Carry on.
http://www.tnr.com/book/review/the-believer. Good and bad, it seems--good on the details of the trial, bad on fleshing out the historical context. Fascinating figure, Joan. She certainly had her own clarity of vision and being able to seize power and spur on a nation is no small thing, especially given the time. Hard to think of a gal like her. If you ever get the opportunity, watch Theodor Dreyer's, "La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc." It's a silent film made in '28 and Maria Falconetti who plays Joan is damn right both startling and spooky to watch. I think that Dreyer did a fantastic job of capturing what I perceive to be the aura of the time--it's both stark and coldly naked in what must have been the setting of a medieval interrogation. It's made even more effective by the cast of characters he employs--these are clearly Northern Europeans and you just don't see faces and heads like these walking around in Dalhart or Luling. Of course, I was sort of drunk while watching it and it was late one night while flipping through channels and stumbling upon the thing on TCM. Okay, watch if you're buzzed and the wife has conked out and Emmanuelle isn't on Showtime. Carry on.
No comments:
Post a Comment