Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 4.0
Luc Besson muckin' with interpretation
For the most part, this movie surprised me with how well it was done. The costumes and the battle scenes are well thought out and the storyline lends a not-so-subtle ambiguity to Joan's "holy quest". She is left wondering if God really has spoken to her. Did God tell her to drive the English out of France, or was it her desire for attention that drives her crusade?Fans of Luc Besson will like this film for its modern-day approach to a medieval story, and its oft-misunderstood protagonist. With that said, I think that some of the imagery goes way "over the top" for the period piece it is attempting to represent. I was left wishing that Joan's visions were shown with more subtlety and respect for the viewer. Overall, the story is interesting, but its exposition is heavy-handed. The featurette on the DVD explains the incredible amount of detail-oriented research that went into the film - research which is often undermined by blazing, colorful, thoroughly-modern hallucinations. I really wanted a good, cohesive story of Joan-of-Arc. With a little subtlety, this could have been a highly rewarding movie. There are still great themes to be had in this film, but you'll have to get past Besson's flair for exhibitionism if you want to explore them.