the audience applauded

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The Messenger: Story of Joan of Arc (1999): Dir: Luc Besson / Cast: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Vincent Cassel: Epic spectacle about mixed translations and emotions. Milla Jovovich plays Joan and she leads France in their battle against the English. She is guided by a voice that she assumes is God but it is never explained how that sword got in the field. The King of France is played with vast confusion by John Malkovich who is unsure whether Joan is a messenger from god or just plain crazy. Director Luc Besson lavishes in production as indicated in his previous film The Fifth Element. He creates menacing battles that become repetitious and predictable before bowing out to corny details in the climax. Jovovich conveys bewilderment after witnessing the destruction of her home and her quest for justice through violence. Whether she is nuts is played out in long sequences before she is torched in the famous ending. Malkovich is well cast as the King of France who attempts to make sense of it all yet seems pulled in two directions and at a loss to the outcome. The real let down is the limited screen time for veterans Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman who are unfortunately underused and are capable of superior work. It presents the aged doom of Joan as it asks viewers questions regarding sanity and betrayal. Score: 6 / 10

A briskly-paced Bio of Joan of Arc, including numerous graphic battle scenes. Characters portrayed "With The Bark On" - soldiers of both English and French forces covered in mud, with horribly rotten teeth and decorated with scars - probably what people really looked like, in the early 1400s. Other scenes adding Realism include watching people eat food (something you don't normally see, in movies). Whatever they ate, it came from a boiling pot - broth, some chunks of veggies and whatever meat might be had...again, the unusual portrayal of common people eating was deliberate, and added "Texture" to the surroundings.Joan herself in the movie is all that she was portrayed to be in real life: A historical Fluke - a 17-year old girl, led by her "Visions", who becomes the leader of an army, and the "Difficult", she accomplishes quickly....the "Nearly Impossible", takes her a bit longer.I was a bit confused about the role of Dustin Hoffman. At first, I was sure he was an Angel, sent to counsel Joan as a sort of "Doubting Thomas" - leading her to a true self-examination of her motives - lending Objectivity to her track record, in an effort to get her to understand why Fortunes ran against her. But, he is listed as her "Conscience"...her own inner voice.I gave this movie a "9" rating. It will only be enjoyed by those who have an interest in History, or the life of Joan, but in anticipation that most of the audience will fit this description, I would say that 9 out of 10 will like it. The Rating above, of 6+, is probably a reflection of many viewers who were hoping for something else.....people who watch "Transformers", or Romantic Comedies.

The film opens terribly with small, fast-scrolling revisionist history in an ersatz medieval script superimposed on a nearly featureless map of a northern coastline, presumably somewhere in Europe. French place names compete for our attention as blood seeps over the obscure territory, presumably representing English invasion. All this when a simple date would tell us as much as we need to know. Then there is a wonderful series of establishing shots, rendering all the previous text unnecessary. Here is medieval agrarian France, here is the title character, here, her conflicted relationships with the Church & God, the ambiguity of what is real, what is visionary. A melange of differing accents alerts us that we are dealing with an ensemble cast. Then John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, and Dustin Hoffman remind us again. Americans in medieval France...hmmm. Of the three, Dunaway seems the most at home in her role. Hoffman...does anyone ever forget he is watching Hoffman? Jack Crabb is the last role I saw as a character and not Hoffman-in-a-role. My point isn't to disparage his acting, but that the casting director has placed too-high-profile actors in supporting roles. With Hoffman, the question is never what will the character do next, but rather, what will Hoffman do with the character. Milla is nearly perfect for the part - wild eyed volatile delusional virginal zealot, not much different from her roles in other films (Fifth Element). But one almost waits for her to go off on a rant in Ukrainian. Has a French actress ever played this role in an English language film? I liked the props and most of the sets. Much of the photography is beautiful, but there is a visually disturbing lack of roads leading to some of the castles. And in the end, the story runs down without reaching a memorable conclusion. Or maybe I dozed off.

If you're a fan of history themed movies, trust me, this ISN'T the one for you. Compared to hits such as braveheart, gladiator & patriot this falls miles short. The acting itself is simply awful, Milia jovovich comes out as a emotionally insecure renegade rather than the savior of France. & same goes for the other characters, Duke of Alençon & the Dauphin charles are portrayed as if they're mentally unbalanced. Nothing like men soldiers would want to follow into battle. Filming was in the worst possible taste too, where's movies braveheart and gladiator give the audience a feeling for the characters, this leaves them cold. No inspired battle scenes, Just crack a few jokes, charge into the battlefield screaming like maniacs, chop off few heads & the war is won in minutes. That just about sums up the "Message" of The MessengerSomething to watch if you want Jeanne de arc looking like project "ALICE" of resident evil. My recommendation: 2/10