The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc isn’t a polite museum-piece of history—it’s Luc Besson turning a legend into a feverish, full-bodied experience, where mud, steel, faith, and fear all feel close enough to touch. Milla Jovovich gives Joan a raw, combustible intensity that makes her victories thrilling and her doubts haunting, while the film’s sweeping battle choreography and stark pageantry sell the scale of a nation teetering on the edge. There’s a propulsive, almost elemental energy to the way it moves from rousing battlefield momentum to claustrophobic moral pressure, capped by John Malkovich’s intriguingly slippery royal presence. Be warned: it’s brutal and often disturbing, and its stylized, high-voltage approach won’t satisfy viewers looking for a restrained, textbook account—but if you want an ambitious historical epic that feels alive, it’s hard to shake.

Luc Besson is clearly aiming for a big, operatic Joan of Arc spectacle—part war movie, part spiritual fever dream—with thunderous battles and a heroine pushed to the edge by faith and trauma. The problem is it often plays louder than it plays smarter: the pacing is bloated, the writing leans into grand gestures over insight, and Milla Jovovich’s Joan can feel more like a modern action icon than a lived-in historical figure. It’s also relentlessly brutal, with disturbing violence and humiliation that can feel exploitative rather than illuminating, so don’t go in expecting an inspiring prestige biopic. If you want stylish medieval chaos and a committed, high-volume production, there’s plenty to look at; if you’re after nuance, restraint, or emotional clarity, this may test your patience.