Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 5.0
"It's my heart seeing...what it wants to see..."
I hardly ever compose and publish reviews of any sort around here...but due to the maligning of this movie by a number of other reviewers, I feel compelled to step in and speak a few words to counterbalance theirs, not to antagonise, but simply to give a review from the Orleans' side of the river, if I may use the metaphor.It is an irrefutable fact among nearly all movie-goers that Braveheart set the standard by which all other epic medieval war movies are judged. It was inevitable and unavoidable that reviewers would not compare The Messenger to Braveheart. I, however, believe that it is imperative to evaluate a movie on its own merit, not on its comparison with Braveheart. I love Braveheart. I will always love Braveheart. But I don't think it's fair to compare it with The Messenger. Therefore I will try my best henceforth to avoid references to Braveheart.The Messenger's timing was unfortunate. NBC's Joan of Arc was released barely half a year before, and The Messenger has therefore been thought of by some as "oh, boy, another Joan of Arc movie". To those who would speak thus, I would like to know whether you have seen both and are therefore in any sort of position to even begin to condemn The Messenger as an inferior or a repetitive movie. I, for one, have not seen enough of NBC's film to make a judgement, so I will also refrain from comparing these two films throughout the remainder of the review.Now that I have put forth a few important points to discourage prejudice, I will discuss the merit of the film itself.Where to begin, where to begin.As others before me have said (so I will not dwell on this point too long), the movie is quite impressive visually. Thousands and thousands of weapons, armour suits, mitres and other items of religious clothing, and many other medieval garments were custom-made for this movie with an eye toward period accuracy. I am not as well read as I desire to be on the Hundred Years' War, but my impressions are that the costumes' and weapons' historical realism is quite sound.A lot of work went into the battle choreography, obviously, and I was most impressed with Marshall Gilles de Rais' well-coordinated use of a pair of morning stars in the battle to take the Tourelles, a French citadel across the river from Orleans which the English captured earlier in the campaign.Speaking of the Tourelles, I was very pleased with the portrayal of the siege and taking of the fortress in this movie. Never before in a film have I seen a siege presented in such detail. The cinematography and acting throughout that battle was particularly impressive. One could almost feel the nervousness and even fear of the English defenders as the French assailed the Tourelles' great walls. They seemed so safe in their fortress, but once the French rallied under Joan, who had recently recovered from an arrow wound, the English knew this juggernaut posed a real threat to them. And when the outer walls were breached, well, all who could retreated in fear into the Tourelles' keep. But even there they were not safe from the staunch and resolute French, and several of the Englishmen lost their cool during the fight.But I degress. I merely wish to relate the vividness of the siege and the feeling that it was real, that those were real men fighting for their lives, fighting for their freedom...or dominance.Another impressive bit about the siege was the number of primitive but interesting defensive mechanisms the English used to protect themselves. Of greatest note was the porcupine, a spring-loaded arrow launching battery that simultaneously fired volleys of fifty or so arrows through murder holes in the Tourelles keep's gate to discourage attack upon it.But enough of warfare and such, for there is so much more to this movie than that.Character development was absolutely wonderful. Aside from Joan, Charles, Charles' mother-in-law Yolande D'Aragon, and The Conscience, the characters of most import in this film were the French officers and noblemen with whom Joan served. Each had a certain personality, certain traits. There was Dunois, the battle-hardened and pessimistic lord who had been holding Orleans together ere Joan's arrival. There was the Duke de Alenon, the rich, roguish, and most gung-ho member of the French generals, he who "always votes to attack." There was La Hire, the massive Goliath of the French, who possessed the roudiest manner of all the generals and was often reprimanded by Joan for cursing.Joan herself was brilliantly portrayed. I've never seen Milla Jovovich in anything else before, so I had a wonderful first impression, having seen her in this film. Joan's was a unique character, an interesting mix of child-like naivety, firm assertiveness, and then downright aggression. In the heat of battle she was a screaming banshee of a warrior, but when she is alone in her cell after being captured by Bergundians and given to the English with no one but herself, she becomes unsure, meek, even fearful. With all the adrenaline during the battles, she has one clear objective and believes that the means to reach that goal are justified by the goal itself. But alone in her cell with The Conscience, she begins to question the ways she has followed for the last two years, the ways of blood and steel. And finally, with the help of The Conscience, she comes to realise her wrongs, her immoralities, her flaws. Her transformations throughout the movie are quite remarkable