Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 4.0
stunning
For those not familiar with the real life story of Joan of Arc, and to be to the point she was THE girl who saved France from the English in 1431, and later she got captured and burned by the English. This film is based on her life story and how she became the saviour of her country in the time of crisis, The film start of when Joan (played by Milla Jovovich) is young and for the next half and hour, you get to understand how Joan did what she did later in the film. The middle section of the film involves 2 different battle scenes, they are good, but not on the same league as Braveheart. The last section of the film deals with Joan's trial by the English. This film is well put together by Luc Besson who also directed the Fifth Element and Leon, the cinematography is great, the costume and backdrop are faithful to the 15th century.Milla Jovovich does a wonderful job in performing Joan, she show the character's struggle against the non-believers beautifully, other actors like John Malkovich and Dustin Hoffman also shines in their part, Faye Dunaway is also brilliant in this film as the mother in law of the King.Although the fighting sequence is not as long and as many as Braveheart, it does hold it's own. If you are looking for a film on the line of Braveheart, then you are on the right track, but this film deal a lot more in terms of the character Joan's emotion and struggle more towards the end than expected, but as a whole you won't be disappointed.