FEMME fatale they are called. Femme fatale is a byword in American English but its etymology is actually French. Femme fatale are those women who succeed in life by wiggling their way among men. These are the kinds of people you usually see in French film director Luc Besson’s movies. Whether the heroine herself (Joan of Arc) or relegated as the hero’s sidekick or love interest (Shu Qi of The Transporter), the women in Luc Besson’s movies are a trademark in itself.

Let’s start off with Nikita, Luc Besson’s groundbreaking 1990 assassin movie hit. Nikita is a crossover between a Lolita and a CIA assassin. Since Nikita is French, we can deduce that she’s an agent of DGSE in this movie. Nikita is such a cult hit even in the United States that television series creator extraordinaire Joel Surnow spawned it into a US cable hit, spanning a total of five seasons. Five seasons is equal to five years and that’s a lot already if you count on the financial success of a television series.

After Nikita, Luc Besson created another femme fatale – a child undergoing puberty in the form of Natalie Portman in her very first movie role. Natalie’s performance in Leon opposite veteran actors Jean Reno and Gary Oldman as a 13-year-old is so challenging that a decade and a half later, I’m still wondering on why she never coveted that elusive Oscar nomination for this movie.

Then came Milla Jovovich who is The Fifth Element in the movie of the same title. The Fifth Element must jive with the four other elements for the survival in a post-apocalypse world. But that is not what makes Milla here a femme fatale. Milla is a femme fatale here for two reasons. As far as I can remember, she’s the only sexy star blabbering completely in an alien language throughout the film. To me, that’s the essence of acting – you have to stun the audience that you’re really good. And Milla is darn convincing enough. The second reason is making Milla an unintentional icon for all small-breasted women in the United States not to be indulging in self-pity. One can have small breasts and be beautiful at the same time.

Two years after her breakthrough role as The Fifth Element, Milla Jovovich emerged as St. Joan of Arc in the movie telling of France’s national Roman Catholic patron saint. Milla here is not the femme fatale. It is her character St. Joan of Arc herself. At a tender age of 19, Milla has led the French Army into victory during her time, culminating in the crowning of King Charles VII.