The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc 4K 1999

I love biopics. If only because, even if the film turns out to be nonsense, you can console yourself with the thought, “But it really happened.” In films like these, there is room for admiration, disappointment, and even confusion. The actions of people who are called “great” are what made them great in the first place. It is for the sake of these deeds that we watch such films. And when it comes to events from long ago, we jump out of our seats shouting “Bravo!” But Besson, beloved by all, chose the path of authenticity rather than colorfulness. And this is where he ended up.

Probably the most terrible massacre of the Middle Ages could not be ignored by the big screen. The Hundred Years' War between England and France, in my opinion, has been unfairly neglected by the extremely small number of films ‘based on’ it. There was only one exception. Or rather, one person. Joan of Arc. One of the greatest personalities of those years. “The maiden destined to save France.” Without a doubt, Joan of Arc became the most prominent figure of both the war and the era. And it is she who is the subject of the vast majority of films about the Hundred Years' War.

In his adaptation, Besson decided to follow his feelings rather than patriotism. Taking his future wife Milla Jovovich as the basis, bringing in a herd of actors from Hollywood, and teaching the French to speak English, Besson once again managed to thumb his nose at the American fat cats. At the same time, the visuals in the film do not particularly evoke emotion. But do they need to? This is first and foremost a drama. And secondly, too. And only at the very end does a historical blockbuster gloomily attach itself. On top of that, the atmosphere of that era is conveyed with incredible pedantry. Its gloom and brutality.

As we know, this is Jovovich's second collaboration with Besson. In The Fifth Element, the famous director simply introduced the world to this remarkable actress. In The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, he truly made her the best of the best! The lead role was a perfect five. A round of applause! As well as for Dustin Hoffman, who portrayed a truly frightening “uncle in a black robe.” Malkovich is also not bad — the role of this “cunning monarch with a bitch of a mother-in-law” suited him very well.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is the kind of film that could be described as stunning, thrilling, or “awesome.” But it is, at least to some extent, a masterpiece. Not as a film, but as a story. A human story. This biopic is truly worthy of the ‘Maid of Lorraine’. And it is worth watching more than once. She saved people, but she was betrayed. She prayed, but she was not heard. This is not some notorious injustice. This is a very complex, but truly great human destiny. And a great destiny deserves a great film.