The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	1999
Founder	Luc Besson
Headquarters	France
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Luc Besson (director, co-writer, producer), Milla Jovovich (lead actress), John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman
Products	The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (film)

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc () is a 1999 French historical drama film produced in English, directed by Luc Besson and featuring performances by Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was co-written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, accompanied by an original musical score composed by Éric Serra.

This film narrates the life of Joan of Arc, the iconic French heroine and religious martyr from the era of the Hundred Years' War. It chronicles Joan's journey beginning with her witnessing English brutality against her family, progressing to her leadership of the French army that enabled Charles VII to ascend the throne. Ultimately, it portrays her capture, trial for heresy, and execution.

Following the commercial and critical acclaim of Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997), which also starred Jovovich, The Messenger was intended to further establish their reputations in cinema. Nevertheless, it garnered predominantly mixed to negative critiques and underachieved at the box office, earning $67 million on a $60 million production budget.

Plot

As a young girl, Joan of Arc experiences a disturbing supernatural vision and returns home to discover her village engulfed in flames. Her sister Catherine conceals her from English soldiers, but Joan witnesses Catherine’s murder before being taken in by relatives.

Years later, in Chinon, the Dauphin Charles VII receives a message from the now adolescent Joan requesting military support against the English. Upon meeting Joan and hearing her visions, Charles becomes convinced of her prophetic mission.

Dressed in armor, Joan leads French troops to break the siege of Orléans. Despite commanders’ doubts, she halts a retreat and secures strategic locations including the Tourelles, even after sustaining serious injuries. She offers the English a final chance to surrender; they accept and withdraw.

Joan then proceeds to Reims for Charles VII’s coronation. Her military efforts continue toward Paris but falter due to insufficient reinforcements. Charles declines further aid, favoring diplomatic approaches, and orchestrates Joan’s capture. She is seized by pro-English Burgundian forces at Compiègne and handed over to the English.

In Rouen, the English conduct a heresy trial aimed at swiftly condemning Joan due to fears about her influence on warfare. Though hesitant initially, Bishop Cauchon ultimately convicts her. Under pressure to renounce her visions before confession, Joan signs a recantation but later questions her divine calling.

The English accuse Joan of witchcraft based on her wearing male attire and execute her by burning at the stake in Rouen’s marketplace. A closing note highlights her eventual canonization as a saint in the 20th century.

Themes

Director Luc Besson sought to convey a modern interpretation through Joan of Arc’s narrative rather than strictly adhering to historical accuracy. His focus was on exploring Joan’s emotional turmoil and inner conflicts, emphasizing war’s enduring psychological effects. Scholar Susan Hayward observes that Besson’s portrayal prioritizes Joan’s internal battles over mere external events.

The film highlights Joan’s psychological state via interactions with "The Conscience," an invented character designed to present a contemporary lens on her visions, reflecting current understandings of mental health. Medievalist Gwendolyn Morgan and historian John Aberth regard this narrative device as effectively connecting medieval belief systems with modern viewpoints.

Feminist elements emerge prominently after Joan witnesses her sister’s assault, framing Joan’s mission as resistance against patriarchal violence and oppression of women. Nickolas Haydock interprets this trauma as a significant psychological driver alongside Joan’s visions while critiquing institutional religion’s failure to address personal spirituality—evident in Joan’s restricted access to confession and harsh trial conditions.

Another theme is anti-intellectualism; despite lacking formal education, Joan achieves military and strategic victories. Christa Canitz notes that although illiterate, Joan outmaneuvers intellectual opponents and succeeds where seasoned commanders falter, particularly through innovative use of siege weaponry during combat.

Production

Initially, Luc Besson was brought on board as executive producer for a Joan of Arc project titled Company of Angels, directed by Kathryn Bigelow with Jay Cocks writing the screenplay. His contract granted him input on casting decisions and financial support. However, Besson withdrew his involvement just eight weeks prior to filming when he discovered that Milla Jovovich, his wife at the time, would not be cast as Joan. This withdrawal resulted in the loss of his funding and ultimately caused Bigelow's film to collapse after legal disputes were resolved privately. Subsequently, Besson initiated his own Joan of Arc production, The Messenger, featuring Jovovich in the lead role, aiming to replicate the success they had previously achieved with The Fifth Element.

The movie was filmed in the Czech Republic. During early filming, a stuntman tragically lost his life in an accident, after which Besson reportedly became withdrawn and less communicative on set.

Soundtrack

Composed by Éric Serra and released through Sony Music Entertainment on 2 November 1999, the soundtrack marked Serra’s eighth collaboration with Luc Besson. Departing from his earlier predominantly synthesizer-based scores, this composition leaned more heavily on orchestral arrangements to better match the film’s historical context, while still incorporating some electronic elements. The album spans approximately 64 minutes, with music featured during nearly 90% of the film’s duration.

Reviewers acknowledged Serra’s transition toward orchestral scoring, generally praising the soundtrack but criticizing the piece accompanying Joan’s death for being a derivative rendition of Carmina Burana. Heather Phares of Allmusic awarded the album 3 out of 5 stars, emphasizing its fusion of orchestral, rock, and electronic sounds. Dan Goldwasser from Soundtrack.net rated it 4 stars, describing it as gratifying yet noting the omission of a significant track present in the movie.

Historical accuracy

The depiction of Joan witnessing her sister’s murder and assault by English troops is fabricated. Historically, Joan and her family had fled their village prior to its attack, which was carried out by Burgundian forces rather than the English. The film shows Joan experiencing visions as a child; however, historical records indicate these began around age thirteen. The sword she discovers as a child in the movie was actually found years later during her journey to Chinon. Philip the Good is portrayed as irreligious in the film, although he was known to be a devout Catholic.

Hayward commends Besson for accurately portraying the alliance between Burgundians and English forces more faithfully than earlier films. Numerous lines during Joan’s trial are drawn directly from her authentic trial transcripts. The movie accurately depicts both wounds Joan received—an arrow wound above her breast and another to her leg—and incorporates 15th-century accounts such as her recognition of Charles VII at Chinon. Additionally, it portrays the examination of Joan’s virginity, an actual test she underwent to validate her purity.

Box office

The film earned approximately US$14.3 million domestically in the United States and $52.7 million internationally, culminating in an estimated global total of $67 million.

Critical response

The Messenger garnered predominantly mixed to negative critiques. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 31% approval rating based on 75 reviews, with consensus pointing to an overly heavy-handed storyline. On Metacritic, it achieved a score of 54 from 33 critics, reflecting mixed or average reviews.

Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times assigned it 2 out of 4 stars, describing it as "a mess" lacking a clear focal point. He also noted that test audiences questioned why Joan's death was necessary at the conclusion.

In Variety, Todd McCarthy commended the film’s action sequences and Thierry Arbogast’s cinematography but criticized Jovovich’s casting, arguing that her tall and slender build did not align with traditional portrayals of Joan.

In contrast, Ron Wells of Film Threat gave it four out of five stars, praising its "adult ambiguities and relationships" and its avoidance of depicting Joan as a superhero figure. Instead, he highlighted how the film invites viewers to interpret her either as a prophet or someone with bipolar traits. Wells concluded that appreciating its religious themes requires not taking every element literally.

Accolades

The Messenger earned eight nominations at the 25th César Awards, ultimately winning two awards for Best Costume Design and Best Sound. Additionally, it garnered two Lumière Awards recognizing Best Director and Best Film. The movie was also in contention for the "Most Original" trailer at the 1999 Golden Trailer Awards, as well as nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design at the 1999 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards. It took home the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing.

On the other hand, Milla Jovovich received a nomination for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.

Year	Event	Award	Nominee	Result
1999	Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Actress	Milla Jovovich	Template:Nom
1999	Golden Trailer Awards	Most Original	Imaginary Forces	Template:Nom
1999	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	Best Costume Design	Catherine Leterrier	Template:Nom
		Best Production Design	Hugues Tissandier	Template:Nom
2000	César Award	Best Costume Design	Catherine Leterrier	Template:Won
		Best Sound	François Groult, Bruno Tarriere, Vincent Tulli	Template:Won
		Best Director	Luc Besson	Template:Nom
		Best Photography	Thierry Arbogast	Template:Nom
		Best Editing	Sylvie Landra	Template:Nom
		Best Music	Éric Serra	Template:Nom
		Best Production Design	Hugues Tissandier	Template:Nom
		Best Film	'The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'	Template:Nom
2000	Golden Reel Award	Best Sound Editing: Foreign Feature	Sound production team	Template:Won
2000	Lumière Awards	Best Director	Luc Besson	Template:Won
		Best Film	'The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'	Template:Won

Home media

The Messenger was made available on DVD on 4 April 2000. This edition preserves the film’s original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and includes several minutes of footage not seen in the U.S. theatrical release. It provides English subtitles, interactive menus, "talent files," a production booklet, and a 24-minute HBO First Look feature titled The Messenger: The Search for the Real Joan of Arc. Also included are the theatrical trailer and trailers for Run Lola Run, Léon: The Professional, and Orlando. Éric Serra’s original soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, as is the film’s audio mix. Despite mixed opinions on the film itself, Heather Picker from DVD Talk gave positive remarks about this DVD release.

The Blu-ray version was released on 2 December 2008 and features audio tracks in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai, along with subtitles available in ten languages. Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk awarded it 4½ stars for video quality and 4 stars for audio but rated extras only 1½ stars due to a scarcity of bonus material. Similarly, a review from Blu-Ray.com praised both the sound and picture quality. In contrast, High-Def Digest criticized the video for excessive edge enhancement and lamented the lack of special features, concluding that Sony’s approach to releasing this title may deter potential buyers.