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The One Time Pad takes a look at Luc Besson's THE MESSENGER (aka the Joan of Arc film)
Hey folks Harry here. Well, here just the other day Besson got his R from the MPAA and it looks as if from the sound of things the print wasn't butchered. Of course the day we see teenage girls hacking apart men in armor with swords and being burned at the stake... I guess then we'll see this film banned, but till then it's ok. Heh... Well this is one of the jewels I'm awaiting a look at. Is it a ruby or a garnet? I'm praying for the Ruby. But from my side of things the movie is fairly out of sight, so... I'll just have to wait and see... but for now, One-Time Pad... well he has seen it, and liked it quite a bit.
One-Time Pad here pal-o.
Here's what I thought of Besson's THE MESSENGER:
Luc Besson amazed me with "The Professional" a few years ago. It was a
random find at the local video store. The story was fairly
straightforward, the characters were interesting, the cinematography was
beautiful, and the acting was wonderful. Flash forward a few years, and
there I am eagerly anticipating "The Fifth Element". I work in a very
technical field and am often disappointed with science fiction on the
big screen. It's a hang-up I have. To my surprise, "The Fifth Element"
never tried to be more than just a fun romp, never did it try to
establish itself as a technical piece of science fiction. A few weeks
ago I was lucky enough to have seen an early print of Luc Besson's
newest movie "The Messenger". The movie was excellent, but where I
really enjoyed "The Professional", and "The Fifth Element", this movie,
by it's very nature, had to stand on historical fact, and could not
solely be based upon style.
Did I care about the attention to detail, or accuracy of either of the
movies I had seen by Besson. No, I took them at face value, and enjoyed
those films as just films. Enter a story of Joan of Arc, a historical
piece. I can't comment on how historically accurate the movie was, but
the story is more complex than any of Besson's previous films by it's
very nature. Besson pulls the complexity of the movie off well, but his
strength seems to lie in the nuances of a simpler story. Parts of the
story seem hastily done.
Besson explores the motivation of Joan of Arc early in the movie, and
how she was nothing more than god's messenger. He also explores the
issue of betrayal. I felt Joan's motivations, and later doubts, were a
strong point of the film, while the betrayal issue seemed weaker. This
focus on Joan seems to detract from the other characters. There were
some interesting people in the film, some characters I would have liked
to see more of, and see more interaction with Joan. The generals that
Joan suddenly finds herself contending with, and wresting control from,
were entertaining, and not used enough. John Malkovitch's character,
the king of France, seemed horribly underused, and more than likely lead
me to feel that the issue of betrayal seemed week. Dustin Hoffman's
appearance late in the movie seemed distracting. His character is a
crucial piece, but I think that his "star power" used late in the film
drew attention away from the subject matter.
My biggest complaint was that the story seemed to climax in the
middle. Everyone knows how the story ends. The English burn Joan of
Arc as a heretic. The main crux of the story seems to be her first
battle, and the coronation of the king. The battle scenes are done
well, and one gets a feeling of the magnitude of what happens in war.
When she tries to take Paris, the betrayal subplot final takes shape.
Unfortunately, it seems rather hasty after the extensive battle scenes.
In fact, cut the few minutes where the newly crowned king is speaking
with his mother, and the betrayal theme becomes mute.
Ok, enough nitpicking. I really enjoyed this film. I will gladly
shell out the cash for a full price ticket to see the finished version
in the theater, even after already having seen it. The visuals are
stunning, the action is intense, and there are some well-done
performances. I'll also be interested in seeing the final cut.
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is this gonna be out in time for it to be considered for the oscars?
it'd be nice if besson got at least a nomination for this, going by the reviews i've already read, it sounds as though it'd be justified..... -
I'm really hoping that Besson can pull off a period piece as well as he can the camp (Fifth Element). If he can, then we're in for one heck of a film.
http://www.almostcool.org -
This is the one I've been looking forward to this year. It's a great story and Besson has been passionate about this project for years. This should be great.
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I would like to see one Luc Besson movie where the story is tightly focused and yet I can't see where the story is going. Luc has great visual style, he does shots as original as Hitchcock in his prime. If he could attach his cinematographer sensiblities to a tight script...maybe even have someone else direct it...I can see him winning one of those Academy Awards which are only given if you are so good that no one can deny your genius, and sometimes not even then. I want to see Luc succeed, instead of getting poor reviews that hurt his potential of making another one because of no revenue. he is in the same class as directors as de Palma and whoever directed Forrest Gump, when he has the potential to be a Spielberg or a Hitchcock. But I, for one, will not be warded off by glaring reviews. I will see this film whether it is tripe or ambrosia. I suppose I just have to cross my fingers.
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The images so far look pretty damn good, so I'll be there with my 5 quid. It's good to see some 'epics' being made again in recent years - I guess that we have a mini epic renaissance after Braveheart - great visuals and battles, so-so history, laughable 'love interest' - but that is in the grand tradition of the old Hollywood epics. Now if only they will make Crusade (but with a decent actor rather than the Austian Oak/Plank.....)
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Maybe, just maybe, 'The 13th Warrior' isn't doing much box-office wise isn't because of the title. I couldn't see this movie doing any better if it still went by the name 'Eaters of the Dead,' which to me, sounds like the title of a cheapo zombie movie.
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Sarin Rufus hit the nail on the head. What is going on with these titles? The worst title of an upcoming movie: DOUBLE JEOPARDY. It actually has a pretty interesting premise. But what is it if you're not a film fanatic? Let's say you just decide to go to a movie, not knowing what any of them are about. Double Jeopardy. What the hell is it? A game show parody? Whenever a movie has double in the title it's usually one of those stupid twin movies. Maybe this is that long-awaited sequel to TWIN DRAGONS. The best part of bad titles is watching people attending a film based on the title alone. I can't wait to see people's surprise when they find out THE HURRICANE isn't a disaster flick.
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