Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 3.0
Not great but it didn't deserve all of the bad criticism
In reading of most reviews for this movie it is to majority consensus that Milla Jovovich portrayed Joan of Arc as if she were a raving lunatic, as if leading an army and a revolution were an easy task for a nineteen year old girl. Most reviews state that historical accuracy had been distorted, (granted the rape scene has no historical backing, and that King Charles was actually much younger than portrayed) but to imply that Joan of Arc had easily accomplished her god sent tasks would be not only a distortion of historical accuracy but also a discredit to all of her feats, it would be foolish to say that she hadn't been affected by the stress of war, not being a formal military leader and relying on her faith to bring her to victory.I found Dustin Hoffman's performance to be nothing short of accurate in the terms of Joan's conscience and possibly the devil himself. The movie's bleak ending seems in my opinion to be plausible, when considering that her Army believed in her and did not question that she had been sent messages from god. It was only after her capture by the English that in her dark cell she began to question herself. And who wouldn't? It was the first time she had been so scrutinized. Nobody ever went into war believing that he/she was in wrong doing, and after her capture while on trial (if you can call it that) she was being questioned and after blindly following her beliefs into battle she no longer has support. Who without any support wouldn't question themselves?