Review of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) by Rose W — 26 Jan 2011

A typical Luc Besson Movie. Wonderful presentation, engaging cinematics,yet not over the top. And well portrayed characters all throughout. I especially love the audio dub on Dustin Hoffmans voice, what a thrill! However, as is also typical with Luc Besson, his endings fall very flat, and there are portions of the film that leave you wondering if you missed something, or an overly harsh edit was done at film completion.

We to the meat of the story - Joan questioning her visions/voices and she seems to be kept alive for some reason by the British. All we get is a single sentence blurb on how the British forces wont fight her, and how the Church is not sure if she is legitimate or not.

A rather critical fact that almost seems glossed over. In much the same way we see the King refuse her more troops, and again we only get a single sentence on the subject, the viewer never quite sure why he though it best to let Joan of Arc fail at getting Paris back when the move made it seem apparent she would have, had she the support the king promised.

So we are left wondering - why? Wasnt the king in just a previous scene complaining about not being in Paris? In the end, its a charming tale, with memorable acting (especially the cursing brute who fought beside Joan) and a plot that seems to have been cast aside in the interest of time or incompetency.