Page - 211 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/02

Similar to A Hidden Life in its exploration of a Christian martyr’s biography but strikingly different in aesthetic and tone is Bruno Dumont’s Jeanne (Joan of Arc, FR 2019), his follow-up to Jeannette, l’enfance de Jeanne d’Arc (Jean- nette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc, Bruno Dumont, FR 2017). Where the earlier film was a mashup of mystical theology and heavy metal music as it focused on the early years of Joan’s life and her visions of saints and angels, Jeanne is centered on the battles and trials of the teenage Joan, culminating in her martyrdom. Based on the writings of Charles Péguy, Dumont’s post-sec- ular approach appropriates religious writings and hagiography, transposing Christian tradition and history for a postmodern context. Where the first film featured head-banging punk and metal music to accompany Joan’s visions, Jeanne instead features French pop singer/composer Christophe (Daniel Bev- ilacqua), who makes an appearance late in the film as one of the robe-cov- ered clergy at Joan’s trial. Christophe’s songs support the visuals as a kind of narration. Young actress Lise Leplat Prudhomme never sings in this film; instead, the cinematography is often strikingly beautiful still frames or slow zooms on Prudhomme’s defiant face, her visage both captivating and con- frontational. The effect of the synth music, the repeated lyrics and the frame of Prudhomme creates a hypnotic effect, perhaps akin to meditating before a Christian icon. Jeanne won a Special Jury Mention in the Un Certain Regard competition. WORSHIPING THE STARS Beyond the films themselves, I was struck by the religious dynamic of Cannes bystanders’ and tourists’ worshipful treatment of the films’ stars. It seems not much has changed since 1955, when film critic André Bazin described Cannes as a “religious order” marked by its own daily offices (matinees and premieres) Fig. 8: Jeanne (Bruno Dumont, France 2019). Press Still: Cannes Film Festival. Festival Review: 72nd Festival de Cannes | 211www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/2, 204–213