Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 4.0
Did we see the same movie?
A fascinating movie. Much of the negative criticism here objects to the movie's treatment of history and to the depiction of the medieval Catholicism that roasted so many at the stake. Both critical strains miss the movie. Joan has long since ceased being a historical person and has entered the realm of myth and legend; as for her being a saint, well, I have no idea what a saint is. But the movie presents a very human Joan in a drama superbly acted and incredibly filmed.Other objections are to beheadings and dogs gnawing at the slain. Fascinating -- we want our saints saintly and wars antiseptic. If that's what you want, don't watch this movie. Admittedly, the war scenes are not historically accurate. They are far too mild to reveal the nature of death in the Hundred Years War. But here the objection was not with the historical accuracy. For viewers less comfortable with ambiguity and blood, perhaps an G-rated version is more appropriate. But Joan lived in X-rated times.The Messenger is a very good movie, much more controlled and sustained than The Fifth Element or La Femme Nikita.