(Dir. Luc Besson. Milla Jovovich, John Makokvich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Vincent Cassel. 158 min. International version). Director Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element) does have a seriously perverse streak, and in that respect he reminds me of Roman Polanski. But where Polanski is a meticulous filmmaker aiming for art (at least most of the time) Besson is a splashy filmmaker aiming for entertainment and in that respect his bloody, revisionist retelling of the story of Joan of Arc succeeds mostly by going big. Milla Jovovich, a fine actress, has her work cut out for her bringing one of history’s great enigmas back to life, and with her athleticism and beauty she really sells the role. When Joan rides around an army of 13th Century French soldiers flat on their backs after just having their butts kicked by the British and rallies them to attack one more time, you do get the feeling that she must have been a phenom. Yet that’s where the movie seems to slip out from under you and becomes less about Joan per se and more about the mystery of charisma. Joan as proto-rock star? Fashion icon? I did say perverse? Fortunately Besson loves the subject and is really down with the soldiers, the best scenes being when the French army officers are shaking their heads in disbelief as Joan leads one more attack without asking. Other plusses are the fine ‘guest star’ spots: John Malkovich as Charles Vll, self-absorbed boy-man. Faye Dunaway as Charles’s mother-in-law Yolande, her stories high forehead disappearing into a double-sided headdress, floating around the court like a space alien queen with cold-blooded instincts to match. Dustin Hoffman, somewhat less successful as a bearded hooded figure in one of Joan’s visions, is ambiguous as a fortune cookie and only moves around when being pulled on wheels. That’s the problem with trying to tell the story of someone as ineffable as Joan. We really don’t get any deeper insight into her other than wow, she sure did yell a lot.
