Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 1.0
WHAT A MESS
There are so many things wrong with this movie, I'm not quite sure where to begin! I guess I could start with historical accuracy. I knew trouble was abrewin' when I found out that John Malkovich was playing the French King Charles, who was actually only 19 years old! Lots of silly, fictitious stuff was added about the various people at court who supposedly convinced Charles to betray Joan. And one of Joan's big motivations was shown to be the rape and murder of her sister, which has no basis in fact.Second major problem: Acting. Joan was played as if she were constantly about to fall down sobbing and have a nervous breakdown. She came across as a total nutcase. There's no way anyone would have followed Joan if she acted the way she was portrayed here.There were also many unintentionally funny parts. I tried hard not to laugh out loud when Dustin Hoffman popped up as Joan's conscience mouthing the most ludicrous dialogue you can imagine.I could go on and on, but instead, I'll recommend that instead of this movie, you should watch the old silent version called The Passion of Joan of Arc. That one will affect you and haunt your memory (in a good way) for a long time.