Quotes

(On Luc Besson's Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, The (1999)) "The point, is not that this or that miracle occurred or didn't occur. The "miracle" is Joan herself. How did a seventeen-year-old girl, a peasant from the fringes of the kingdom, manage to enlist the trust and support of a nation and play a pivotal role in expelling a foreign invader? Not only does this film fail to pose this central question, it seeks to remove the authenticity of Joan's faith and the faith of her countrymen as at least a factor in these complex events."

(On Luc Besson's Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, The (1999)) "When a film is founded on a lie, and a perverse one at that, nothing that follows can be trusted. In the case of "The Messenger," a true story of love and sacrifice, of dedication and faith, is cinematically morphed to a false one of hatred, bitterness, fury and revenge. Calling attention to one's own outrageousness as a filmmaker has always provided a fashionable haven for those who cannot or will not do the hard and patient work that leads to real insight, true understanding, gripping storytelling and work of lasting value."