The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc - 1999

Joan, as a little girl, confesses her sins in church two or three times a day. The priest asks after her family; concluding all is well at home, he decides she is only unusually religious. She skips out of the church, glad to be forgiven by God and Jesus. Wandering away from her village, she has a somewhat violent and supernatural vision. She returns to find her village burning. Her sister, Catherine tries to protect her by hiding her inside a closet before the English arrive at their house. The Englishman sees Catherine and forces himself on her but she valiantly fights him off. Frustrated he takes out his sword and stabs her in her stomach, pinning her to the wall. Catherine's now lifeless body is further desecrated and raped repeatedly as Joan watches in horror. She survives the attack, and goes to live with her distant relatives; she confesses to the priest that she wants to forgive her enemies, as the Bible teaches, but she cannot.

Many years later, at Chinon, the Dauphin and soon to be King of France Charles VII receives a message from Joan, requesting an army to lead into battle. Charles VII thinks he should let her come, but his advisors say she may be an assassin. The king's mother-in-law, Yolande of Aragon says Joan should be seen because the people believe she could save France from the English.

Joan arrives at Chinon, and right away Charles VII is warned again that she could be an assassin. Charles VII comes up with the plan to let someone else pretend to be him; that way if she is an assassin she will kill the wrong man, and if she is truly sent by God she will know who the real future king is. Joan stands before the throne, but tells the man sitting there, the young Jean d'Aulon, that he is a good man but is not Charles VII. The court chamberlain Trémoille, who had just earlier announced Jean d'Aulon falsely as Charles VII, tells her that the real Dauphin is among the crowd and to go pick him out by herself....