Film : 'Passion of Joan of Arc'

[violet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ddz1S8pJ8

I thought this was a good movie, because it shows very well how a mystic was demonized. It is based on the actual transcripts of the trial. Joan, a simple shepherd girl, answers to the questions from educated men so very simply and intelligently. In my opinion, the director did a great job of showing how ridiculous the trial was.

[Jhanananda]

Thank-you Violet, for posting a movie recommendation.  I think we should have more movie reviews here, because cinema is such a part of western civilization, so there have been some quite good contemplative movies produced.

I have seen several movies about Joan of Arc, but I have not yet seen Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 film,  'Passion of Joan of Arc.' I would like to see it.

While working toward an art degree at the University of Arizona, I made the art and life of the early French Renaissance artist, Jean Fouquet, my artist to study.  As an art student we all have to find one artist who we are going to spend our degree program researching, and he was mine.  It so happens that Jeanne d'Arc was a major theme for him, so I spent quite a bit of time researching her life as well; and I noticed that the heroic woman is a major theme in French art going all of the way back to the Venus of Brassempouy (c.23,000 BCE).

[violet]

While working toward an art degree at the University of Arizona, I made the art and life of the early French Renaissance artist, Jean Fouquet, my artist to study.

That must of been a lot of work. I always liked his painting 'Madonna Surrounded by Seraphim and Cherubim'; the choice of colors for the angels seem odd, especially for the time.

[Cybermonk]

Hi all,

The Joan of Arc story could be a "use and abuse" scenario of yet
another misunderstood mystic.

Some say Joan was an insane peasant girl, who heard voices
and was used by the local military as a way to bolster french
moral, which was getting pounded by the english, so the
french generals declared the girl next to god, which blessed
whoever she was with. Then after a few successful small
battles, she became the hero of france. Some say, some
french historians, Joan never actually fought in the battles,
she was more window dressing. Reality is never as glossy as
the story.
Its also a rumor she was never burned at the stake, someone
was, but she later married and had two sons.
She lived in the town of Arlone, the name may be wrong, then
later she was arrested for impersonating "Joan of Arc", by
then known as Maid of Orlenes. The french love their heroes.
Yet another story explains how Joan was able to function in
royal society as a "peasant' girl. Joan was, as the story goes,
the daughter of a royal, who taught her political understandings,
able to speak proper french, weapon/armor skills and so on.
Again another woman was burned and the royal lived on.
So it goes,
Kimo
 

[Jhanananda]

Hi all,

The Joan of Arc story could be a "use and abuse" scenario of yet
another misunderstood mystic.

I happen to subscribe to the version of the Joan of Arc story that she was a classic misunderstood mystic who was sold out by the King in exchange for rent that the Protestant English were paying him for the use of half of France and all of Paris.  Joan was about to ruin the king's money stream for attacking Paris, when the English specifically told the French King to call her off.