When it comes to pioneering directing, Luc Besson has had his fair share of making a difference and setting the trend. Boasting a diverse record ranging from Subway, The Big Blue, La Femme Nikita, The Professional and The Fifth Element, Besson is sure to set another landmark in his latest offering.

Covering the historical events of Joan of Arc, The Messenger: Joan of Arc is a two and half-hour long larger-than-life detailed presentation on the story: a young girl who led France to victory over the English. For this though, she was burned at the stake.

It's pointless to go into the history details surrounding the legend of Joan of Arc, because the film more than successfully condenses this quite confusing era to something easily comprehensible. "Condense" might not be the most appropriate term taking into account the length of the film. But with all the battle scenes and picturesque detail it would've been a sin to cut any of it.

Though the movie stays true to historical facts, it does incorporate what one can call a weird approach to the "voices" Joan was said to have heard. It was these voices which apparently had told Joan that she must save France from the English -- and she believed them to come from God. At the end the movie takes a different approach as to what these voices might have been, when jailed Joan is confronted by her "Conscience". This confrontation exposes the internal struggle Joan had to deal with because of all the bloodshed. The fact is, these scenes can either make or break the movie for the viewer, it all depends if you like the angle Besson took here or not.

On the acting side, it's a case of the best of the best. John Malkovich is Charles VII of France, who at first backed Joan in her visions and conquests in the hopes of being officially crowned as King of France. Alongside is mother Yolande D'Argon, played by veteran actress Faye Dunaway, who seems to get more exquisite roles as she gets older. Dustin Hoffman plays the confronting role in Joan's life as her Conscience and lastly Joan herself -- the beautiful star from Luc Besson s previous movie The Fifth Element , Milla Jovovich. Together the actors spawn a magic intensity on the big screen.

Worthy of mention are the battle scenes. In hindsight I realised that these were some of the most grotesque and bloody brawls I've seen in years, but since Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan nothing ever came close to shocking me again. As in Braveheart , the heart of The Messenger: Joan of Arc lies in the battle scenes, a testament to the volatile political climate of the time: the end of the Middle Ages. According to chief stunt co-ordinator Phillipe Guegan these scenes where more difficult and dangerous than those in Braveheart to film, because of the tightness between the actors and the heavy armour. As Besson says: "There's nothing technical. You go for it, and fight very strongly, and you try to kill the guy that's in front of you."

Patrice Ledoux was responsible for the production side and also worked on other movies with Luc Besson. Sticking to people he felt comfortable with, Besson used Eric Serra once more to compose the score to this movie. Serra had won numerous awards for his work on The Big Blue , Subway , The Fifth Element and also the James Bond sequel Golden Eye .

Expect to hear many different opinions about this movie. Even though I loved every minute of this epic, other moviegoers felt the whole drama to be quite exaggerated. But if history is your thing, the best way to appreciate it on the big screen would be to allow Luc Besson to make a motion picture of it.

-- Jean-Pierre Pellissier