Jeanne d'Arc (1999)
(The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc)
Country: FR
Technical: col 160m
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Tchéky Karyo, Pascal Greggory, Vincent Cassel, Timothy West, Gina McKee
Synopsis:
1420s France is besieged by England claiming the issue of the Treaty of Troyes and the Burgundians who are in league with them. A young peasant girl from Lorraine sends messages to the Dauphin at Chinon imploring him to give her an army with which to attack the English; he does so but withdraws it once he is crowned in Reims.
Review:
Post-Braveheart filmed history: lots of burnt homesteads, bestial Brits and lopping of limbs. It is doubtful if much authority exists for the early childhood scenes of rape and murder, and they do rather detract from Jeanne's divine calling, as if a contemporary audience can only identify with good old-world revenge stories. But once the campaigning starts, this latest version of the tale clocks up some stunning visuals (surely one of the most expensive films ever made in France) and the French actors cope reasonably well with having to speak in English (it's a Columbia picture after all), though this is far from ideal. Extremely bloodthirsty, though no one acquainted with Nikita and Leon will be surprised by that, and Jovovich's performance, problematic for some, is at least less meek and pious than predecessors'. The device of having Hoffman play her conscience in prison neatly dramatises the plight of one beginning to doubt her purity of purpose. The pace overall is brisk, with plenty of wide-angled shots in the close order combat scenes.
(The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc)
Country: FR
Technical: col 160m
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Tchéky Karyo, Pascal Greggory, Vincent Cassel, Timothy West, Gina McKee
Synopsis:
1420s France is besieged by England claiming the issue of the Treaty of Troyes and the Burgundians who are in league with them. A young peasant girl from Lorraine sends messages to the Dauphin at Chinon imploring him to give her an army with which to attack the English; he does so but withdraws it once he is crowned in Reims.
Review:
Post-Braveheart filmed history: lots of burnt homesteads, bestial Brits and lopping of limbs. It is doubtful if much authority exists for the early childhood scenes of rape and murder, and they do rather detract from Jeanne's divine calling, as if a contemporary audience can only identify with good old-world revenge stories. But once the campaigning starts, this latest version of the tale clocks up some stunning visuals (surely one of the most expensive films ever made in France) and the French actors cope reasonably well with having to speak in English (it's a Columbia picture after all), though this is far from ideal. Extremely bloodthirsty, though no one acquainted with Nikita and Leon will be surprised by that, and Jovovich's performance, problematic for some, is at least less meek and pious than predecessors'. The device of having Hoffman play her conscience in prison neatly dramatises the plight of one beginning to doubt her purity of purpose. The pace overall is brisk, with plenty of wide-angled shots in the close order combat scenes.
(The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc)
Country: FR
Technical: col 160m
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Tchéky Karyo, Pascal Greggory, Vincent Cassel, Timothy West, Gina McKee
Synopsis:
1420s France is besieged by England claiming the issue of the Treaty of Troyes and the Burgundians who are in league with them. A young peasant girl from Lorraine sends messages to the Dauphin at Chinon imploring him to give her an army with which to attack the English; he does so but withdraws it once he is crowned in Reims.
Review:
Post-Braveheart filmed history: lots of burnt homesteads, bestial Brits and lopping of limbs. It is doubtful if much authority exists for the early childhood scenes of rape and murder, and they do rather detract from Jeanne's divine calling, as if a contemporary audience can only identify with good old-world revenge stories. But once the campaigning starts, this latest version of the tale clocks up some stunning visuals (surely one of the most expensive films ever made in France) and the French actors cope reasonably well with having to speak in English (it's a Columbia picture after all), though this is far from ideal. Extremely bloodthirsty, though no one acquainted with Nikita and Leon will be surprised by that, and Jovovich's performance, problematic for some, is at least less meek and pious than predecessors'. The device of having Hoffman play her conscience in prison neatly dramatises the plight of one beginning to doubt her purity of purpose. The pace overall is brisk, with plenty of wide-angled shots in the close order combat scenes.