Ritz-Barr, Stephen (2017): Classics in Miniature – Joan of Arc. (Film)

Abstract

The story of Joan of Arc has been told in every possible medium for over 600 years, and Stephen Ritz-Barr’s latest instalment Classics in Miniature, a series of short films featuring marionettes, is one of the latest takes on the legend. His previous projects present clear dramaturgical justification for the use of puppets; Faust2 (2008) has been a staple story in the repertoire of European puppet theatre for centuries, and so presents the story in a traditional format, while Quixote3 (2010) features a famous scene in which the Don single-handedly massacres an army of marionettes, and so takes a satisfying meta-theatrical turn as the central puppet himself encounters puppetry. The justification for the use of puppets in The Legend of Joan of Arc (2019) is less direct. While stories of saints' lives have been told through puppetry since at least the Middle Ages in Europe, and while it can certainly be argued that Joan's character is a metaphorical puppet, under the control of god, king, and country, the piece relies more heavily on the possibilities afforded by film, and the cinematography of Philip Klucsarits, than the possibilities afforded by puppetry. The framing, editing and visual effects are carefully crafted, at ...