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    The Messenger

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    While “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” mostly works when it comes to the epic battle sequences, it really struggles and even falters when it comes to making the characters’ faith compelling and I doubt this rendition will make its way into many church basements. This historical tale of the French saint stays mostly true to the facts but does deviate once in a while so a quick resume of the plot: Mila Jovovich plays 19-year-old Joan of Arc, a poor peasant girl who is convinced that God has chosen her to liberate France from English rule. Although she is armed only with her faith and a sword, her fervor has convinced many to stand by her side. Not taken seriously at first, Joan is nevertheless sent on the battlefield with an army, attracting the attention of friends and enemies by freeing the besieged city of Orléans.

    The film’s sets, costumes, and props, along with the battle sequences are its biggest assets. The picture looks authentic. The rich are draped in elaborate costumes and hairstyles the people of 15th Century France look dirty and exhausted, as they should. Star Milla Jovovich is never done up to make her look like a sexy heroine. There isn’t anyone in the film that looks like a 20th-century actor pretending to be a historical character. The battle sequences are gritty and convincing. You see war machines and infantry besieging each other, it gets very bloody at times and there is at least one sequence where the violence gets genuinely disturbing. This is a nice balance to the displays of battle as well. Just as you begin experiencing that “hurrah! ” feeling from seeing victory come to the armies of France, you witness the bloody horror of battle, making way for interesting inner conflict in our heroine. She realizes that it might sound exciting to cleave an enemy's head in two with a battle ax, but the truth is much more complicated than that.

    Where the movie falls apart completely is in its depiction of the religious aspect of Joan of Arc. This movie is about a real woman who died for her faith, is recognized as a hero of France, and as a martyr. Director Luc Besson makes it seem like he’d want us to forget these facts in order to focus on the combat. Throughout most of the beginning of the film, Joan feels like a madwoman, lashing out at a cruel world and hungry for revenge after seeing her nun of a sister violently murdered by an Englishman who then proceeds to desecrate her body via necrophilia. This event, (which is completely made up for the film) suggests that Joan is masquerading as a saint in order to kill as many Englishmen as possible, or is at the very least suffering from post-traumatic stress so intense that she is having delusions. When a young Joan bursts into a church late at night screaming “I want to be with you... now! ” and drinks the communion wine with such excitement that half of it ends up on her face you’re taken aback. You don’t trust her as a heroic character. When she’s ignored by the male soldiers, she goes into a violent rage, knocking things over, screaming and cutting her hair with her knife with such haste that she risks hurting herself. These outbursts don’t make you feel like this woman was chosen by any kind of divine power. Even the “miracles” performed in her presence are undermined by the way the film is shot.

    When it comes to the battles Joan is sent into, she is constantly having fits, becoming impatient and growing restless, as if the thought of NOT killing other humans is making her skin itch. She jumps into battle totally unprepared and nearly gets herself killed right away. Yes, someone who has never seen battle before is sure to act differently from a seasoned veteran but you once again get the impression she is simply out for blood. She hasn’t been chosen for any divine purpose, she’s just lucky. The film is edited in a way that suggests that Joan frequently hallucinates, seeing a mysterious figure of either a child, a man who resembles Jesus but has a truly disturbing look in his eyes and a character that appears to be Satan (though he is credited as “Conscience”) tormenting our protagonist and testing her faith. When the film concludes with a text crawl explaining that Joan was canonized 500 years later, it feels like the movie is making fun of her, saying eventually after 500 years the Vatican relented and decided to confirm that she was, in fact, a saint. It’s a slap in the face and you wonder what the objective of the whole movie was.

    Open-minded admirers of Saint Joan of Arc might enjoy the battle sequences and seeing a well-produced film, but will they be offended at the implications that she was nuts the whole time? For people that want a period-piece epic battle film, the extensive running time contains many slower, theological sections that will make you grow restless and the picture’s grim conclusion will sour your mood. The tone is simply too uneven and the message so muddy that recommending “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” doesn’t make much sense at all. (Extended international version on Dvd, July 1, 2013)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  6.8.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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