Customer Reviews

Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Based on the actual testimony of Jeanne d'Arc, this marvelous film is part re-enactment and part documentary, combining quality acting and cinematography, and interviews with people like Siobhan Nash-Marshall, author of "Joan of Arc: A Spiritual Biography," and Kelly DeVries, author of "Joan of Arc: A military Leader." It also shows paintings from the era, and the resemblance of the actors to some of the artwork, especially Michal Havelka, who plays the Dauphin Charles, is remarkable. Lucie Vondrackova's portrayal of Joan is moving and believable, and Tomas Karger is excellent as Alencon. Anna Paquin does the voice over as Joan, and Alfred Molina pulls the story together with his narration.

Producer/director Pamela Mason Wagner has brought the many dimensions of this account into a cohesive one-hour docudrama, which was presented by Faith and Values Media for the Hallmark Channel, and filmed in France and the Czech Republic. If you know nothing about Joan of Arc, you will learn a lot, and if you are familiar with the life of this incredible saint, whose strength was her submission to God's will, you will appreciate how well her story has been told.

Joan was only 13 when she started to hear voices guide her, and 17 when she became a warrior for France. This illiterate teenager led an army, stood her ground against Bishop Cauchon's difficult questions for weeks, and changed history. In a closing statement, the narrator states "Joan's story is an inspiration to anyone who believes in following your Voice, even if it consumes you."

The DVD Special Features include a biography, timeline, and "Important People and Events," but you need a PC capable of playing DVD-ROM to access them, which I do not have, so cannot comment on them.

Also highly recommended for further viewing is Carl Dreyer's silent masterpiece "The Passion of Joan of Arc."

I'm a major fan of Joan of Arc or as she was once called Jeanne d' Arc. Jeanne was a mere peasant girl who lived in War torn France; but at age 17, she rallied a demoralized nation and changed the course of history forever. There have been many excellent movies and plays about the life of Jeanne; but, in my opinion, this one is the best. It is based upon Jeanne's writing and also upon the historical records of the time. It doesn't take the liberties that many other presentations have in the past.

This presentation stars Lucie Vondrackova as Jeanne and she does a masterful job at capturing this historical heroine's quest to stop the English invaders, coronate the Dauphin, and save France from invaders; while helping the viewer to discover a fascinating, idealistic and innocent young woman. One of my favorite actors, Alfred Molina, provides the historical narration for this 56 minute presentation; while Anna Paquin gives provides Jeanne's voice.

Inspired by "her voices", young Jeanne struggles to achieve her own vision in a brutal and dangerous world. Many scholars offer their insights about this young woman's quest. I highly recommend this movie.

This is a well-done documentary that gives a good overview of the life of Saint Joan of Arc. If you do not know much about the life of Saint Joan this is a good place to start and will teach you the highlights of her life. Even if you already know her story, you will still probably enjoy it as I did. I especially liked the French accents and the way they refer to her as she was called in her native tongue: Jehanne. They also did a good job in choosing an actress that fits the historical descriptions of Saint Joan. Most importantly, unlike so many modern books and films, this one does not try to explain her life apart from God and her supernatural Voices. There are some minor historical mistakes like what caused her capture (it was a drawbridge raised not gates closed), but overall a good docudrama that most will enjoy.

Unfortunately having read much on Joan's life, this movie does not bring out the wonder of the accomplishments that Joan was able to perform with the help of God on the battlefield to the great amazement of her generals. There were things she new and predicted that could not have been anything but divinely inspired. This movie misses all that and is far too brief, frequently missing the best points of key events and staying too long in the mundane. I wish I could recommend another movie in its place, but they all fall far short of the books I have read about her. Pick up Mark Twain's Joan Of Arc book to start with and you will get a much better appreciation for the miracles and fiesty personality of this great saint. Twain's book can be appreciated by all ages as with most of his books. Twain claimed it was one of his best books and he spent years in research for it. Look also to anything by Régine Pernoud for excellent historical information on Joan and proves Twain did his research very well. Don't use this movie to find out about Joan. It does not place her in the best of light and was a disappointment to me.

When I was asked to be a part of this film I was a bit worried as the film company was named Faith in Media. But then I was able to view their superb St Francis and St Patrick films and decided to be interviewed for this film. What a great experience! The filmmakers were sensitive to the historical events but also believed in Joan's mission. They did not dwell on why Joan would pursue her mission, only that she believed she had one. There was no girl trying to appeal to a father who only wanted boys or psychosis or made-up rape of a made-up sister. What a relief! But they also did not fall into the error of some of the reviewers of the film here and try to create an ahistorical Joan to satisfy their unhistorical religious beliefs. Joan of Arc was a historical phenomenon, and if one makes her more than that she becomes a myth. A real Joan lived; she inspired soldiers and leaders to do great things; she changed the course of the Hundred Years War and the course of history. Could someone else do it; probably, given the right situation and right person. In a way her contemporary St John of Capistrano was doing the same in the Balkans, and Pierre d'Aubusson would do the same in 1480. That Joan was burned for her beliefs also made her a special historical figure -- and that the Catholic Church which burnt her later made her a saint would make her a unique historical figure. Thanks Faith in Media for giving me the opportunity to be in this wonderful film.

As a St. Jeanne d'Arc devotee, I was please to see a new dvd with positive reviews; one even claiming this was the best movie on St. Joan out there. WRONG!!!! I rated this documentary with two stars instead of one because it does cover many actual events in her life. Unfortunately, it does so from an entirely secular and skeptical point of view. No credit is given to God or the Faith; only to Jeanne herself and how her personal beliefs motivated her. Not THE Truth, but her own personal beliefs. It is quick to point out the miraculous nature of many events in her life, but portrays them as extraordinary human events, with certainly no credit to anything divine. Yeah right. Like a 16 year old peasant girl in male-ruled Europe just happened to get on a horse and lead her country to victory after victory. Nope, nothing special there! Anyway, another disturbing aspect of the documentary is several of the "experts" exhibit their own biases and beliefs when they interpret Joan's own words for themselves. For example, they claimed that Joan's visions were not actually Saints; she simply said they were later on during her trial to avoid persecution. Poppycock!

So skip this biased film. It isn't worth the money, and it certainly is not worthy of the Saint herself.

This film version of the real-life events that happened in 15th century France is historical and dramatically enacted.
Students of European history will find it very useful to their studies and the film is also entertaining.
It is also reverent to Joan and her claim to have been inspired by God and his saints to save France from foreign invasion.

This film is by far the most accurate documentary of all times. I am pleased to see that watching this film of Joan of Arc displayed true piety than the movie "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc," where Joan of Arc is displayed as a crazy maniac.

"Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God" for a lousy $1.14 from Moviemars for this lovely film, it is worth the buy!

Concise and well produced. Have viewed some others and they failed with poor acting or to much unnecessary drama. Leans more toward a documentary however, it is entertaining. The life span of Joan while she was involved with her mission was also short lived. In retrospect, the movie/documentary leaves you wanting for her to have lived longer. However,she did accomplish her mission.
Good vid.

Joan of Arc is a fascinating historical character. Female soldiers were not the norm in medieval Europe but they were not unheard of. There were numerous women martyrs. Joan's story though is an incredible one of a teenage girl who believed God called her to drive the English out of France. Whether or not one feels she was a on divine mission, her journey undoubtably changed history. The inspiration and tragedy also ensured her story would be told and retold.

"Joan of Arc-Child of War, Soldier of God" is an excellent presentation of Joan's life. The documentary combines reenactments, solid narration by Alfred Molina, and scholarly commentary. The cinematograhy and music is very appropriate. The presentation is highly respectful to Joan without pushing any side too strongly. Overall a highly interesting and informative documentary which I recommend.