The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Starring:Milla Jovovich, Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, John Malkovich, TchÃ©ky Karyo, Vincent Cassel, Pascal Greggory, Richard Ridings, Desmond Harrington, Timothy West, Rab Affleck, StÃ©phane Algoud, Edwin Apps, David Bailie, David Barber (II), Christian Barbier (III), Timothy Bateson, David Begg, Christian Bergner, Andrew Birkin
Director: Luc Besson
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
1999 may be remembered as the year of Joan of Arc: NBC created a miniseries in her honor, Carl Dreyer's long-lost The Passion of Joan of Arc was discovered in a mental hospital, and Facets re-released Jacques Rivette's Joan the Maid. Luc Besson rounds out the corpus with his stylistic and vaguely heretical grand-scale feature, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) challenges established notions about the Maid of Orleans as he creates a decidedly more human heroine than have previous biopics. The story line is the same--a young, illiterate peasant girl convinces the dauphin of France to give her an army, and she leads them to victory in Orleans, only to be burned at the stake for heresy--but Milla Jovovich, in the title role, is a woman possessed. Her influences are less than heavenly; as a child she witnesses the murder of her sister by the English, a death caused by the sister's giving her hiding place to young Joan, which causes an intense desire for revenge. Yes, God still speaks to Joan, but even this is undermined, as Dustin Hoffman, playing The Conscience, questions her motives.

Amazon.com

1999 may be remembered as the year of Joan of Arc: NBC created a miniseries in her honor, Carl Dreyer's long-lost The Passion of Joan of Arc was discovered in a mental hospital, and Facets re-released Jacques Rivette's Joan the Maid. Luc Besson rounds out the corpus with his stylistic and vaguely heretical grand-scale feature, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) challenges established notions about the Maid of Orleans as he creates a decidedly more human heroine than have previous biopics. The story line is the same--a young, illiterate peasant girl convinces the dauphin of France to give her an army, and she leads them to victory in Orleans, only to be burned at the stake for heresy--but Milla Jovovich, in the title role, is a woman possessed. Her influences are less than heavenly; as a child she witnesses the murder of her sister by the English, a death caused by the sister's giving her hiding place to young Joan, which causes an intense desire for revenge. Yes, God still speaks to Joan, but even this is undermined, as Dustin Hoffman, playing The Conscience, questions her motives.

Cinematically, The Messenger is stunning, with fantastical sequences of Joan in communication with higher powers. Yet the graphic violence (scenes include random decapitation and a dog gnawing on a body); the uneven accents, which make it difficult to tell who is fighting on which side; and the rewriting of lore may make this version of Joan of Arc appeal only to Besson fans. Jovovich is convincing, and while at times the film may drag (at times you wish they'd hurry up and burn her), it is a remarkable and insightful retelling of a well-known piece of history. --Jenny Brown

Customer Reviews:

Religous Based Thriller - Demonstrating Fear of Church.......2007-06-22

I found this movie EXCELLENT! I cannot comment on the historical religious facts - however, I was moved by Joan of Arc's passion to pursue her vision(s) from God to reclaim the Kings crown to France (From England).

Throughout her life, Joan of Arc was haunted by "visions from God" that lead her to believe that she had the religious power to force Englands Army to surrender territory in France rather than face the rath of God. Mila Jovovich does a spectacular job at playing an unbelievable role of a young lady leading a powerful army.

Dustin Hoffman is introduced as her conscience in the later half of the movie - and is haunting! In addition, I believe that this movie does a great job at demonstrating how religion was "Feared" during this period of history!

Strongly recommended as a very entertaining movie.

History Coming to Life.......2007-05-19

For those who love history coming to life, this is the film for them. Milla Jovovich is fabulous in this role and portrays the passion and zeal of a true believer in the Middle Ages. The costumes and the props are superb and the battle scenes are so realistic that you feel that you are participating in real history in progress.

My favourite film of all times.

very satisfied.......2007-03-31

Showed up sooner than expected and very satisfied would recomend for any one to purchase from this individual

A medieval peplum film.......2006-11-22

This is not the best film by Besson. In fact it is in many ways incredibly naive and superficial, even in its desire to look and sound profound. Profundity is not only political gibberish diplomatic slang. And it is that kind of language that reduces the attitude of the French king to be and then king to opportunism. And it is that kind of language that reduces the attitude of bishop Cochon to servile non-commitment. And it is that kind of language that reduces the attitude of the English to vengeful cruelty. It is also very superficial to reduce simple people to blind believers of anything that sounds iffy, godlike and slightly insane, like a girl leading an army or hearing and listening to divine voices. But all that must please many simple minds indeed. It is a shame because the subject deserves a serious film, a serious approach. Shakespeare forgot to write this play. He could have written a masterpiece on the subject. Besson just writes an average action film, some kind of medieval peplum film.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

This film should be sent to the stake!.......2006-11-22

As a St. Jeanne d'Arc devotee, I have read quite a bit on my favorite Saint, as well as seen my share of movies. Some were well done, none have been definitive, and others are, well, like this one. I usually try to be a bit more intelligent, but the first word that comes to mind when I think of this particular version is CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Historically innacurate, spiritually unfaithful, this film stinks. It is downright heretical, portraying our beloved Jeanne as having made a pact with the devil. She is shown as a proud, haughty girl at odds with her Church. What a bunch of bull. The ONLY two bits of this film I appreciated were the attention given to her ring (given her by her brother), as well as the scene when she brings a child back to life (I am unaware of any other films on her that portray this true story). Other than these, it took a lot not to walk out of the theatre when I went to see it. In other words, BLAHHHHHHHH! Don't waste your time, money, or soul on such non-sense.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc [Region 2]

Average customer rating:

Religous Based Thriller - Demonstrating Fear of Church
History Coming to Life
very satisfied
A medieval peplum film
This film should be sent to the stake!

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc [Region 2]
Starring: Milla Jovovich , Dustin Hoffman , Faye Dunaway , John Malkovich , and Tchéky Karyo
Director: Luc Besson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD