The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
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A young girl's supernatural visions lead her to become a war heroine in the Hundred Years' War.
The story
As a child, Joan of Arc experiences a violent and supernatural vision and witnesses the brutal murder and rape of her sister by attacking English forces. Years later, the now-adult Joan contacts the Dauphin, Charles VII, requesting an army to lead the French in battle against the occupying English. Desperate for victory, Charles believes her prophecy. Clad in armor, Joan leads the French armies to the besieged city of Orléans, where she successfully routes the English, allowing Charles VII to take the throne.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After leading the French to victory at Orléans, Joan continues her military campaigns, eventually capturing the stronghold of the Tourelles and offering the English a chance to surrender. She later witnesses the coronation of Charles VII in Reims. However, as the siege of Paris fails and Charles VII prefers diplomacy, he begins to view Joan as a threat and conspires to have her captured. She is taken prisoner by the pro-English Burgundians and sold to the English, who hold a trial for her in Rouen. Based on her claims of visions, she is tried for heresy. To avoid execution, she signs a recantation, but the English eventually devise a way to have her burned as a witch by dressing her in men's clothing. Joan is burned alive in the marketplace of Rouen. A postscript notes her canonization as a saint in the 20th century.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 158
- Production countries
- France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Luc Besson
- Writers
- Luc Besson · writer; Andrew Birkin · writer
- Cast and characters
- Milla Jovovich · Joan of Arc; John Malkovich; Faye Dunaway; Dustin Hoffman; Pascal Greggory; Vincent Cassel; Tchéky Karyo; Richard Ridings
- Genres
- epic; historical drama; biographical drama; war drama
- Themes
- sanity; feminism; anti-intellectualism; spiritual needs
- Tone and mood
- emotional; historical
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; historical; war; religious; feminist
- Source material / true-story basis
- Joan's real trial transcript
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, earning just $67 million on a $60 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 31% · review count: 75 critics; Metacritic · score: 54 · review count: 33 reviews; CinemaScore · score: B- · scale: A+ to F scale
- Awards and nominations
- Best Director · Lumière Awards · won; Best Film · Lumière Awards · won; Best Sound Editing · Golden Reel Award · won
- Production trivia
- The scene of Joan's sister's murder is fictional.; The film was intended to follow the success of The Fifth Element.; A stuntman died during the first weeks of filming.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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