TVB offers viewers a real treat in the coming two weeks, with the much-feted mini-series Joan Of Arc (Pearl, 9.35pm) which gives flesh to the true story of the 15th-century French maiden who claimed to have been guided by saints in her fight to unite her country.
Some may quibble over the historical and religious accuracies. But overall this is inspiring television. What Part One captures so well is the rawness of the period: the ghastly realities of a century of war, so horrific that it takes a young woman to bring men to their senses and hope to her people.
French Canadian director Christian Duguay achieves that despite the action being played against some unrealistic sets, even though much was filmed amid medieval forts in the Czech Republic. The costumes, though, are superb.
Leelee Sobieski, just 16 at the time of shooting, is as good as any Joan we'll get, pious yet full of guts and spirit.
Being half French she would seem ideal for the part. But she was born and raised in North America and, unfortunately, delivers lines like 'We're all French' in perfect American English. Peter O'Toole's well-spoken English is equally inappropriate for Bishop Cauchon, despite his fine performance. But the story as told by Duguay still works powerfully enough.
Sobieski's Joan seems to represent more than the fabled Maid of Lorraine but a female Messiah come to save her wretched people from Armageddon. As a woman leader, Joan was born centuries before her time, and was condemned as a witch for her defiance. Today, Joan offers the dream that, in the new millennium, women can make the world a less brutal, more compassionate place.
Maybe that is why the story has been told on film so many times, culminating in three this year.
