Product: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Region 2) (1999)
Rating: 4.0
Saint or Lunatic, or both?
Being french, I am somewhat familiar with the history of Joan of Arc. This movie is well made and the historic details are compelling. The movie doesn't portray war as "fun" as it did not take away of the gruesome parts of medieval wartimes. Even some of the medieval war machines (porcupine, tailor spin...) are portrayed very accurately. The Actors are very efficient in their roles as they portray the medieval mentality to the best of our understanding.My only drawback to this movie is the visions of Joan of Arc as they seem to be needlessly stretched and done deliberately to confuse the audience. they could have easily cut them back by half without taking from the story.Did Joan of Arc really have visions from God? Maybe it doesn't matter. What matters is that SHE believed she did and the people of France believed it also. This changed the entire face of the England-France war.