Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God (2005)

Joan Of Arc: Child Of War, Soldier Of God An illiterate peasant girl, Jeanne d’Arc emerged at 17 from an obscure corner of war-torn France, rallied a demoralized army and changed the course of history. Inspired by "her voices," she stunned the English invaders, brought about the coronation of the Dauphin and dazzled even her persecutors with her wit and grace. Now go beyond the image of this legendary heroine and discover a fascinating young woman struggling to achieve her own vision in a brutal and dangerous world. Running Time: Approx. 60 Minutes Color/NTSC/Stereo 05-51626

A Disappointment

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. June 19, 2008

Joan of Arc - Child of War, Soldier of God

I thought it was a wonderful bio about Joan of Arc that I've never knew before. Well done. August 23, 2007

Good overview of the life of Saint Joan of Arc

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. July 17, 2007

Secularized story just doesn't cut it - skip this one

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. May 16, 2007

Documentary of Joan of Arc

Interesting documentary of Joan's life. It is very much like the Movie by LeeLee Sobieski. For those interested in the subject, it is a comfortable viewing and informational. March 8, 2007

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