Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Was she really crazy?
After years of constant war between the Kingdoms of France and England, King Charles the VI of France is declared mentally insane.His wife,queen Isabeau of Baviere, signed the shameful treaty of Troyes which pretty much gave all of nothern France to the English. The city of Orleans was the limit of what was left of the French Kingdom. The dauphin (prince)Charles was waiting for a miracle in order to reconquer his father's kingdom. He was supported by Yolande of Aragon, his mother in law(supremely played by Faye Dunaway) who pretty much managed to keep what was left of France together.The movie is visually stunning, the costumes and locations are utterly fantastic and accurate. MiLLa Jovovich plays the passionate young peasent girl who claims to be sent by god to fight the English in order to crown the dauphin as Charles VII at Reims cathedral.Some people claim her acting was exagerated and well over the top, but how could a simple peasent woman make herself noticed and obeyed in a time when women were considered to be souless and second class human beings? yes, Joan had to scream, yell and act like a fanatic in order to be heard. Otherwise she would have been morally crushed by all the sceptic army men around her.This is also very historically accurate and well researched,inspite of a few elements (Joan did know how to sign her own name for instance) Everything, including some of her own words is reproduced on screen."Better today than tomorow" was said by Joan many, many times.This film doesn't seek to give the audience a determined opinion of Joan. We don't know whether she is crazy or not.The way she acted makes us doubt if the voices she claimed to have heard were actually God's. The truth is that she "brought back the fire in the French army" to quote Yolande of Aragon, and she crowned the dauphin as Charles the VII. Her downfall was dramatic and touching, but she remains a big inspiration for everyone in the world who wants to change things for the good.France won the 100 years war and joan was declared a saint.Finally,in order to fully understand and appreciate this movie one must have some knowledge of European History.Otherwise it can be confusing.