We have spent the past week reading excerpts from the book The Trial of Joan of Arc, which is a translated transcript of the actual Trial of that took place in Rouen, France by the English. From the book, Joan was portrayed as a submitted girl to God whose will of action was only driven by nothing but God’s command. Even though there are some doubts on the legitimacy of the transcript (since the person writing it down is against Joan and it was translated twice), we can still tell that she is no doubt 100% loyal to God. Not only did she seem submitted and willingly to die for God, but also soft and calmer in the court. There were no records of traumas, physical resistance or attacks on the Englishmen.
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, molded Joan into a completely different character from the transcript. It’s interesting to see Luc Besson giving Joan a false backstory (mother was raped and killed, hometown invaded) when according to the real story, Joan was the one who left her parents. It is obvious that Besson is giving Joan a different motive in being so eager in going to war with England: rather than God’s will, her enthusiasm is driven by vengeance. Her avengement comes with a price: persuading her consciousness that it’s okay. The day right after the traumatic event, the priest keeps repeating to her “The lord does things for a reason” “There’s a reason why you’re here and she’s not”. I believe the priest plays a big part in confirming Joan’s consciousness and directing her to become “The Messenger” (regardless whether she is really one or not). Her conscious seems the be responsible to her actions more than God’s command is.
Besson shaped Joan as not only violent, but also crazy. A crazy hero, is what I’d call her; the way she pulled out the arrow from her chest, the way she lash out on the english bishop, not to mention the way she clutches on the Charles VI like she’s a fanatic. That’s certainly not how Joan was like in the transcript at all. The lacking appearance of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret in the film also made me feel like Joan might be suffering from childhood trauma than acting on God’s command.
This can be because medieval films can’t survive without a little distortion to the context and a little spark to the characters. It relates back to how we perceive medievalism in modern days.
Getting Medieval 