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

Original title

Joan of Arc

Directed by

Luc Besson

Genre

drama film, war film, biographical film, epic film, medieval film, historical drama

Country

France

Runtime

2h 38m

Rated

R

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 1,612 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young French woman has visions that compel her to lead the French army against the English during the Hundred Years' War. She achieves victories that help place the French king on the throne but is later captured, put on trial, and executed for heresy.

epicintensemilitanttragicvisceraldevotionalharrowingsobering

What happens

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc) is a 1999 English-language French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson and starring Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original score was composed by Éric Serra. The Messenger portrays the story of Joan of Arc, the French war heroine and religious martyr of the Hundred Years' War. It begins with young Joan as she witnesses the atrocities of the English against her family, and she has visions that inspire her to lead the French in battle against the occupying English. Her success in routing the English allows Charles VII to take the throne. Eventually, Joan is captured by the English, tried and executed for heresy. Besson's previous film, The Fifth Element (1997), which also stars Jovovich, was a critical and financial success, and had a positive influence on both of their careers. The Messenger was intended to follow that success and cement Besson's and Jovovich's status in film. However, it received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office, earning just $67 million on a $60 million budget. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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