Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc

With this heavy-metal musical, French writer-director Bruno Dumont marries the religious themes of his Hadewijch and Outside Satan with the absurd humor of his Li’l Quinquin and Slack Bay. The results are one of a kind and certainly not for everyone, but if you can get on its wavelength, you’ll find much to appreciate: the natural settings are gorgeous, the conversations on faith are probing, and the music rocks. Dumont opens in 1425, when the eight-year-old Jean is first discovering her religious fervor; the second half considers the teenage Jean as she prepares to join French troops in battle. The supporting characters include a pair of head-banging nuns and a trio of levitating saints; these playful details alleviate the heavy theological discourse, which is open-ended and provocative nonetheless. In French with subtitles.