Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Original title: Joan of Arc
  • 1999
  • R
  • 2h 28m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
68K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,487
142
Milla Jovovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Theatrical Trailer from Columbia Pictures
Play trailer2:28
1 Video
93 Photos
AdventureBiographyDrama

A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.

  • Director
    • Luc Besson
  • Writers
    • Andrew Birkin
    • Luc Besson
  • Stars
    • Milla Jovovich
    • John Malkovich
    • Rab Affleck
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    68K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,487
    142
    • Director
      • Luc Besson
    • Writers
      • Andrew Birkin
      • Luc Besson
    • Stars
      • Milla Jovovich
      • John Malkovich
      • Rab Affleck
    • 415User reviews
    • 113Critic reviews
    • 54Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 13 nominations

    Videos1

    The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
    Trailer 2:28
    Watch The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

    Photos93

    Milla Jovovich and Desmond Harrington in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
    Milla Jovovich and Desmond Harrington in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
    Milla Jovovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
    Milla Jovovich stars as Joan of Arc
    Faye Dunaway plays Yolande D'Aragon
    A battle scene
    Milla Jovovich stars as Joan of Arc
    Joan enters battle
    Dunois & Aulon
    Milla Jovovich as Joan
    Joan in battle
    Aulon, Charles VII, de Chartres and Tremoille

    Top cast

    Edit
    Milla Jovovich
    Milla Jovovich
    • Joan of Arc
    John Malkovich
    John Malkovich
    • Charles VII
    Rab Affleck
    Rab Affleck
    • Comrade
    Stéphane Algoud
    • Look Out
    • (as Stephane Algoud)
    Edwin Apps
    Edwin Apps
    • Bishop
    David Bailie
    David Bailie
    • English Judge
    David Barber
    • English Judge
    Christian Barbier
    • Captain
    Timothy Bateson
    Timothy Bateson
    • English Judge
    David Begg
    David Begg
    • Nobleman - Rouen's Castle
    Christian Bergner
    • Captain
    Andrew Birkin
    Andrew Birkin
    • Talbot
    Dominic Borrelli
    • English Judge
    John Boswall
    John Boswall
    • Old Priest
    Matthew Bowyer
    Matthew Bowyer
    • The Bludgeoned French Soldier
    Paul Brooke
    Paul Brooke
    • Domremy's Priest
    Bruce Byron
    • Joan's Father
    Vincent Cassel
    Vincent Cassel
    • Gilles de Rais
    • Director
      • Luc Besson
    • Writers
      • Andrew Birkin
      • Luc Besson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Nikita
    7.3
    Nikita
    Joan of Arc
    6.6
    Joan of Arc
    The Big Blue
    7.5
    The Big Blue
    Angel-A
    7.0
    Angel-A
    Subway
    6.5
    Subway
    Taxi
    7.0
    Taxi
    The Fifth Element
    7.6
    The Fifth Element
    Alexander
    5.6
    Alexander
    Atlantis
    6.6
    Atlantis
    Joan of Arc
    5.8
    Joan of Arc
    Wasabi
    6.6
    Wasabi
    Joan of Arc
    6.4
    Joan of Arc

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Most of the characters in the film, including Joan's Captains, were real historical people. Giles de Rais (Vincent Cassel) was a real person who, after the war, and Joan's death, retired to his lands. Many years later, he was arrested for the murder of more than one hundred young boys and was executed. Some historians believe that his crimes became the basis for the French fairy tale "Bluebeard", about a rich man who murders his wives and hides their bodies in his grand house.
    • Goofs
      Joan's older sister was not murdered by soldiers, but survived to adulthood and married. She died ultimately in childbirth.
    • Quotes

      Joan of Arc: I've always been faithful to God and I've followed everything He's ever said and I've done everything He's ever asked me to do.

      The Conscience: God asked you to do something?

      Joan of Arc: Yes. Yes, lots of things.

      The Conscience: You mean God said, "I need you, Jeanne."

      Joan of Arc: No. But He sent me signs.

      The Conscience: Signs? What signs?

      Joan of Arc: The wind. The wind. And the clouds, ringing!

      The Conscience: Ringing clouds?

      Joan of Arc: The dance. The dance. The dance. The dance.

      The Conscience: The dance.

      Joan of Arc: The sword! The sword lying in the field. That was a sign.

      The Conscience: No. That was a sword in a field.

      Joan of Arc: No. No, that was a sign!

      The Conscience: No. That was a sword. In a field.

      Joan of Arc: It can't just get there by itself! It can't. A sword just doesn't get there by itself. It can't just get there by itself.

      The Conscience: True. Every event has an infinite number of causes, so why pick one rather than another? There are many ways a sword might find itself in a field.

    • Alternate versions
      The European release was 10 minutes longer than the US theatrical version, which omits, among others, the scene where Joan's virginity is tested before the court of King Charles VII. The longer version has been released in the USA on DVD.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Bone Collector/Last Night/Liberty Heights/The Bachelor/American Movie/The Legend of 1900 (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      My Heart Calling
      Lyrics and Music by Éric Serra and Achinoam Nini

      Produced by Éric Serra

      Performed by Achinoam Nini

      With the Special Authorization of Interscope/Geffen

    User reviews415

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    A lot of reviewers loathed this film
    ...but it still made interesting viewing. More biographies of Jeanne d'Arc exist than of any other person, and any attempt to portray her rather incredible life as France's greatest heroine and martyr on film can expect to encounter a similarly large number of second-guessers. This is precisely what happened when this picture came out. Reviewers went on at length about what the picture should have been about, and how Joan should have been portrayed (and by whom), leaving readers to wonder what they thought of the picture that HAD been made. This tendency to review the picture they wish had been made is a classic failing in many critics and this picture seemed to bring it out especially often.

    The picture that Luc Besson made here deserves to be appreciated on its own merits. It is visually stunning, rousingly action-packed, and full of interesting period details. Yes, casting his supermodel wife Milla Jovovich in the lead was a risky choice, as her looks were hardly those of a typical medieval peasant. Yes, her performance did not resonate with the period the way one by a more classically trained actress might, although she was clearly never trying to be Ingrid Bergman. Still, Milla's hyperactive personality made her interesting and watchable as a historical person about whom so much has been written, who nonetheless existed so far back in the past that she lacks a strongly identifiable humanity. When somebody makes a better statue than a person, as Joan does from a contemporary viewpoint, odd casting choices can be forgiven if they work. Milla's twisty mannerisms, rolling eyes and whispery speech give the viewer constant occasions to ponder just how much of Joan's fanaticism came from genuine devotion to God and the church and how much was just an under-medicated personality disorder. This is actually one of the key scholarly issues surrounding Joan's life, and the picture brings it to the fore in its latter part as Joan herself tries to come to terms with her own claims of divine communication by means of a debate with Dustin Hoffman as her confessor-priest/conscience. That Besson takes no particular viewpoint here is an interesting choice, and one which actually helps the viewer to understand why Joan's story has compelled so many generations of historians.

    The political aspects of Joan's life and legend were also dealt with in a nicely balanced fashion. Like many figures in times when political and national alliances changed with the seasons, Joan herself blew back and forth between being tremendously useful to the French throne at times and dangerously inconvenient at others. Fame is a powerful commodity at any time, and the picture carefully tracked the rise and fall of Joan's fortunes as she watched hers be manipulated, leveraged and ultimately put on trial.

    I thought a lot of The Messenger and recommend it. Religious and historical scholars are advised to approach with caution.
    helpful•10
    0
    • dave13-1
    • Apr 5, 2013

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 12, 1999 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Czech Republic
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • Joan of Arc
    • Filming locations
      • Bruntal, Czech Republic(Fort of the Tourelles)
    • Production companies
      • Gaumont
      • Okko Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $85,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $14,276,317
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $6,360,968
      • Nov 14, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $66,976,317
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 28 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital EX
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Milla Jovovich in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) officially released in India in Hindi?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.