The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Directed by Luc Besson
In 1429, a French teenager stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil. As she reclaims God's diminished kingdom, this courageous young woman has various amazing victories until her violent and untimely death.
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I think it could find an audience in the U.S. I would only hope it finds one with some adult analytical skills, but I wouldn't count it, considering how many times I've had to explain "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" and "Lost Highway".
He uses the same framework in Anna as he did in La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, Lucy, and even The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.
In his over 35-year career, French writer-director-producer Luc Besson has been responsible for blockbuster hits like “The Fifth Element” and spectacular flops like “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.”
Flash forward nearly two decades, and Besson — who has since amassed a full catalog of movies driven by strong female heroines (“Lucy,” “The Lady,” “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc”), which have collectively earned more than a billion dollars at the box office — stands accused of inappropriate behavior by at least nine women, one of whom, actress Sand Van Roy, filed charges of rape with French police last May.
It’s comparable, in themes, tone and audience distancing, to Luc Besson’s “The Messenger – The Story of Joan of Arc” (1999).
Having previously helmed “La Femme Nikita,” “The Fifth Element” and “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc,” the French writer-director has much experience depicting heroines.
After his early period as an overrated filmmaker — and the critical and commercial disaster of his 1999 The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (starring his then-wife Milla Jovovich as Joan) — he settled into the role of producer, frequent writer and occasional director of schlock action pictures (and the odd children’s film).
Besson’s history is crafting strong female leads (1990’s La Femme Nikita, 1997’s The Fifth Element, 1999’s The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc), which explains why Waked is a non-entity in the film, and Freeman collects the easiest paycheck he’s ever made as a scientist whose intellectual curiosity consists of staring.
More recently, Besson has taken his fascination with women and put it to good use in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999), a wild screen interpretation of Joan of Arc as a radical zealot like John Brown.