The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc follows a peasant girl in early fifteenth-century France who comes to believe she has been chosen by God to drive the English out of her country. After her village is attacked and her sister is killed, she travels to the court of the dauphin Charles and persuades him to give her command of troops. She leads the French to a string of victories, most notably at Orléans, and sees Charles crowned king. Her success and her religious claims bring her into conflict with powerful political and church interests, and she is eventually captured and put on trial.

Luc Besson directed and co-wrote the film with Andrew Birkin, and produced it with Patrice Ledoux. It was Besson's seventh film as director, arriving after The Fifth Element in 1997 and before Angel-A in 2005. Milla Jovovich plays Joan, with John Malkovich as Charles VII, Faye Dunaway as Yolande of Aragon, Dustin Hoffman as Joan's conscience, Pascal Greggory as the Duke of Alençon and Vincent Cassel as Gilles de Rais, among a credited cast of 91. The production was mounted on a budget of 85 million US dollars and returned 67 million US dollars worldwide.

On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from around 73,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.4 out of 10 from roughly 1,650 votes. A film critics' rating of 5.1 out of 10 from 75 reviews places the professional response below the audience scores.