The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

Discovering A Three-Hour Oscar-Worthy Epic : Five Stars
One of the greatest motion pictures of all time.

Luc Besson achieved directorial greatness more than once, but this film is the peak of his creative vision and success. Casting Ukrainian supermodel Milla Jovovich was a controversial idea at the time, but Besson managed to extract a nuanced performance from her - a feat, considering she is in virtually every frame of this 3-hour epic. To me, this is the greatest `war hero' film ever made - yes, even better than "Braveheart", "Alexander", or "Saving Private Ryan". In fact, the superiority of this motion picture far eclipses the achievements garnered by those films.

People often forget that Joan of Arc is one legendary hero about whom there exists indisputable historical evidence, in form of her court deposition (try to find the transcripts online). Even as a teenager she was remarkably mature and well-spoken for her age, and even if God did or not speak to her, her intelligence and political acumen at that young age is quite impressive.

The movie is awash in bright colors - the opening shots of the child Jean skipping down her childhood hills of Orleans are quite simply, stunning. Equally enthralling are her visions of `Jesus on the throne' as well as the extended sequence ten minutes into the film where Jean is chased by a pack of wolves, culminating in her discovery of the entire village being torched. If there is one downside to the film, it is that it depicts the English as overly boorish and immoral, while the French are noticeably better looking and far more civilized. Whether this is historically accurate or not, I do not know, but the portrayals of these two sects are quite distracting.

At centerstage is Milla Jovovich. This woman was never a great actress. In fact, I knew her more through her musical work (check out her solo album from 1994 "The Divine Comedy") than her movie roles. But despite her current success with the Resident Evil series, its obvious that Milla gave this film her all - lending her role with such an aura of vulnerability and authenticity that she virtually becomes Jean through the course of the film.

I also liked this movie due to its' non-dependence on fact, and its reliance upon various schools of thought. For example, the question of whether God told Jean to lead France to victory is never totally justified. In fact, her `conscience' (played towards the end of the film by Dustin Hoffman) does a fine job in ripping up Jean's ego and exposing her as a scheming egomaniac who had her own self-esteem issues to address, rather than any form of probably divinity. Again, this is alluded to, not stated as fact. In doing so, Besson opens new doors of possible thinking for the audience, and the director presents these alternate realities before us with rare tenderness that has often escaped in the past.

Standout scenes include Jean's trial. Milla's gradual transformation of Jean from a passionate female warrior to a helpless peasant girl behind bars is done in spectacular fashion. In real life, Jean was raped repeatedly by her guards and often appeared at her court trials bleeding and totally disoriented due to her abuse. The film isn't quite so graphic in its' exploration, but it does speak of the various issues she faced behind bars. Of equal importance is how France completely sold her out, and how the country she so fondly fought for, couldn't care less about her execution.

The last ten minutes of the film are the most poignant, as Jean is offered to lower her principles so that she can escape being burnt at the stake as a heretic. Milla brings such an award-worthy performance to the table here as her mind, her conscience and her rapidly deteriorating sense of self lead her to make some very forced and confused decisions and by the time politics intervenes and finally hands her the most twisted judgement, its evident that Jean has suffered both a moral and spiritual breakdown. The final scene, of Jean gazing at a cross while being burnt alive, answers the most burning question posed by modern theology - will God be present at the time of your death? The movie does not address this, but again, presents it to us as an issue to think about.

I think the most fascinating thing about this film is that Jean of Arc was a real person, and about 60% of what she faced in real life is not even mentioned in the movie. Jean's parents, for example were totally involved in her life until the very end, but in the movie they do not make an appearance anywhere in her adult life.

There are few films in which everything just WORKS - and this is a prime example of it. It has long been on my Top 10 list of All Time Greatest Films, and it's a pity to see that in this day and age, it still hasn't developed the cult fan following it so obviously deserves. A superb slice of American technology meeting European Cinematography, "The Messenger" is a towering achievement that remains actress Milla Jovovich's most inspired work to date. Personally I thought she deserved the Oscar for this, as she holds our attention most rivetingly for three hours, but that's art for you.

Highly Recommended. Buy this today.

Milla enlivens the legend of a hero
There are many filmakers who have eagerly taken on the telling of the tale of Joan of Arc. I am not only impressed with the performance of model/actress/singer Milla Jovovich, but I was entranced by the strong force behind the goal of Joan in this version. Sticking with her troops when the chips where down, she is portrayed as a devoted woman full of motivation. Whether or not her story is true, it can inspire anyone who hopes to push their ambition past obstacles.

Milla enlivens the legend of a hero
There are many filmakers who have eagerly taken on the telling of the tale of Joan of Arc. I am not only impressed with the performance of model/actress/singer Milla Jovovich, but I was entranced by the strong force behind the goal of Joan in this version. Sticking with her troops when the chips where down, she is portrayed as a devoted woman full of motivation. Whether or not her story is true, it can inspire anyone who hopes to push their ambition past obstacles.