do n't get me wrong -- i tend to appreciate besson 's naive , unashamedly romantic worldview , an artsy european sensibility gone thoroughly hollywood .
his 1994 leon is exciting and absurdly moving , thanks mainly to the interplay between jean reno and a young natalie portman , and 1997 's the fifth element is a goofy paean to love , l - u - v
, that 's even more of a hoot on repeated viewings .
but his joan of arc is a mess , despite some stirring battle scenes and the mostly knockout presence of a close - cropped milla jovovich as the maiden herself .
jovovich , besson 's own personal muse through the making of his last two films ( though they 've since separated ) , is magnetic and energetic enough to play a credible joan ( as long as you believe joan was not just a warrior , but also a fabulous , supermodel - level babe ) .
and besson remains a servicable action film director , though not an especially facile one . leading her army against the seemingly impenetrable fortresses of the english , joan 's struggle against great odds is undeniably stirring , and besson helps you understand how the french could believe , fervently , that god is on her side .
besson 's big mistake
, i think , is trying to dramatize the interior life of his subject .
yes , joan had visions -- but i guarantee that whatever image a sympathetic audience conjures in its collective mind will be more compelling than the blue - eyed christ figure on display in besson 's hallucinatory dream sequences .
the whole conceit turns into a disaster
right about the time dustin hoffman ( billed as " the conscience " ) shows up , spouting platitudes and sending poor milla running around her cell , babbling like ally mcbeal .
that 's kind of a shame , since she does quite well up to that point , charging into battle with a banshee wail that suggests the eruption of a sublimated bloodthirstiness .
that darkly attractive aspect of her character -- that she 's as likely a charismatic madwoman as the vessel of the lord -- is more or less betrayed by the final reels , in which the conscience browbeats her over the killing
she 's overseen and joan
starts to look like little more than a very confused young lady who 's about to take a fall .
as the story winds down , with joan condemned to a horrible death by fire , besson is aiming for tragedy and psychological significance .
trouble is , he 's chosen a lurid , often jokey tone for the balance of the picture -- including some blithe cgi bloodshed in the battle scenes -- and it 's impossible to shake the feeling that this particular vision of the middle ages is , to a great extent ,
nothing more than a put - on .
this glib , pre - fab version of such a great story makes me all the more grateful for dreyer 's the passion of joan of arc ( 1928 ) , a film whose dialogue is drawn from the actual transcripts of joan 's trial , and which stands as one of the most harrowing experiences in all of cinema .
compared to that film , the messenger plays as a crime against history .
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directed by luc besson written by besson and andrew birkin cinematography by thierry arbogast music by eric serra starring milla jovovich france / usa , 1999 theatrical aspect ratio :
2 .
35
: 1 --------------------------------------------------------------
Output: N