Joan of Arc (Ignatius Press)

If you are Catholic, then you are very familiar with the story of St. Joan of Arc. In a nutshell, she was a French girl who had visions that instructed her to support King Charles VII and rid France of the English people. In 1999, there was a three-part TV mini-series bearing her name. Ignatius Press has recently released this movie to DVD and I am going to tell you a little bit about it.

Joan of Arc is approximately three hours long. Leelee Sobieski plays the title role with other big names filling out the cast including Peter O'Toole, Jacqueline Bisset, Shirley MacLaine, and Neil Patrick Harris. The cast alone gave me reason to pause and question why proponents of the New Age moment and also openly "out" actors choose to play in a Catholic/Christian film. Those questions/complaints aside, I must compliment the casting of Ms. Sobieski. This was early in her career, so she had a quiet, yet powerful presence as Joan of Arc. Adding to her demeanor, her stature cast the shadow of a warrior. While she was the definitive star of the film, the other actors and actresses held their own and delivered solid performances.

The story is mostly accurate from a historical standpoint. There are some errors of course, but when does Hollywood ever get the whole story right? The length and pace of the movie drag at times. I understand this was originally a three part series that needed an hour each night, but you feel like chunks of this film could have been cut and you would not have missed anything. The backdrop of the movie felt like you were actually in Medieval France. There were many memorable moments in this movie, but the ones that stuck with me were not when Joan was in battle or rallying troops. Instead, I remember her early scenes helping to feed the poor and giving hope to a people who had lost all hope.

Overall, I have mixed feelings on this movie. Some of the casting is questionable, but Sobieski shines. Some of the information is inaccurate, but the movie mostly gets it right and stays true to the core spirituality and the heart of the story. Of all the recent movies that Ignatius Press has released to DVD, this one is probably my least favorite, but to be fair, it had very stiff competition. I think I would have liked the film a bit more if it was a foreign film in French with English subtitles, but to each their own. If you are a fan of St. Joan of Arc, then the movie is worth checking out for Leelee Sobieski alone.

This movie was provided to me for free by Ignatius Press in exchange for an honest review.

Joan of Arc and The Maid of Orleans (Lighthouse Catholic Media and Ignatius Press)

If you had to pick Mark Twain's greatest work what would it be? Tom Sawyer? Huckleberry Finn? The Prince and the Pauper? All of these are all great novels, and you could make a strong case for any of them. However, if you asked Mark Twain what his greatest work was, he would tell you it was Joan of Arc. In fact, he spent twelve years in France researching the subject and went through several drafts and iterations before finally feeling like he had done Joan of Arc justice.

The book itself is told in the format of a novel, which was translated from the memoirs of Louis de Conte (a fictional characterization of Joan of Arc's page, Louis de Contes). There are three sections to this novel. Book I begins with the birth of the narrator, Louis de Conte. It also talks about Joan's early life in Domremy and how she was different from other children. She came off as wise and learned, despite being an illiterate peasant. Book II largely deals with Joan's military exploits. It takes place when Joan is 17 and is seeking to gain control of the King's army. This is unheard of not only because she is a girl, but because she is so young. In this section we see the opposition she faced, not just on the battlefield but from her own country. The king's counselors were evil men and always in the king's ear, trying to make Joan look foolish or get her killed. Book III deals with her imprisonment, trial, and eventual martyrdom. Here we see people take advantage of her illiteracy by getting her to sign a false confession. They also forbid her from wearing men's clothes, but while in prison, they took her female apparel and replaced it with men, so she would either have to wear nothing or put on the male garb and be branded a lapsed heretic. She chose modesty, knowing that it would ultimately result in her death. There is also a brief summary, which tells the fate of Joan's family, King Charles VII, and several other figures.

I was pleasantly surprised reading this book. Mark Twain is not known for his reverence or piety, but he did a remarkable job keeping this book respectful and enthralling. Lovers of history, saints' lives, or homeschoolers/history teachers will find a great treasure in this book. Lighthouse Catholic Media is currently selling copies for $5 a piece. This is such a great price that you can buy one for you and several for friends.

The Maid of Orleans is an Ignatius Press reprint of a title that was published in the 1950s. The author, Sven Stolpe, was a Swedish writer/journalist and wrote numerous books, including this one on Joan of Arc and one on Queen Christina of Sweden. Stolpe's book on Joan of Arc begins with background information on The Hundred Years' War and the state of France during that time period. In fact, Joan of Arc isn't even mentioned until the third chapter of the book. This creates a good background for the reader who does not know much about the era in which Joan grew up and lived. Stolpe presents a very detailed account of Joan. The level of detail is astounding and it seems he took to heart the advice to always assume your audience knows nothing about the subject.

As someone with a degree in psychology, Chapter 4 stood out to me as the most interesting. In this chapter Stolpe discusses the voices which Joan heard. He explains that people will ever agree on the voices Joan heard. Believers will see these voices as God. Skeptics will see these voices as hallucinations. He then cites several examples of the voices and a psychologist's rebuttal. The other interesting section to me was the trial almost two decades after Joan's death. It ultimately showed how unfairly treated Joan was, that her trial was held in a kangaroo court, and that her death was unnecessary. Stolpe's concludes that "Joan's real greatness is her willingness to die as shameful a death as the Savior upon the Cross."

This was a very detailed account of Joan of Arc. Stolpe's goal in writing this book was to show that Joan's life was more than just trying to free France, but that she was to share in Christ's Passion. The book was very dense, and there were times I had to put down the book often because of the depth and level of detail that Stolpe took in this book. It also had parts that were hard to read, because the level of betrayal and cruelty that Joan suffered was overwhelming. If you have an interest in history and/or a devotion to Joan of Arc, this book will be of great interest to you. If on the other hand you do not, you might find yourself weighed down by information overload and be unable or uninterested in finishing the book. That's not to say the book is bad, I just believe you have to be interested in the subject or in the right frame of mind to read a book this dense with facts.

These books were provided to me for free by Lighthouse Catholic Media and Ignatius Press, respectively, in exchange for an honest review.

Saint Bernadette and Saint Joan of Arc (Pauline Books and Media)

Back in October, I had the pleasure of reviewing two graphic novels from Pauline Books and Media called Saint Francis of Assisi: Messenger of Peace and Saint Ignatius of Loyola: Leading the Way. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, but noticed that these were geared toward boys, not that there is anything wrong with that. So I investigated their site and found two graphic novels geared toward girls called Saint Bernadette: The Miracle of Lourdes and Saint Joan of Arc: Quest for Peace. and Both of them are written by Bruno Mar and illustrated by Dominque Bar.

Saint Bernadette: The Miracle of Lourdes begins with doubt. The first apparition has already occurred at Lourdes, and Commissioner Jacomet doesn't believe any part of the story. Also among the doubters is Father Peyramale and perhaps worst of all young Bernadette's friends and family. This lack of faith of others, however, does nothing to shake her faith. She knows what she has seen, and she knows that she must keep her word to continue to visit the grotto despite being told by the police to stop. Eventually, Bernadette is able to confirm that the lady in white is indeed the Virgin Mary when she asks her name. Mary replies, "I am the Immaculate Conception."

I really wish that this book would have given more information about St. Bernadette's life before and after the Lourdes apparition. However, I did appreciate the final page of the book, which gave a paragraph summary of what happened to the major people in this event. We are also presented with key statistics on Lourdes, such as the number of yearly pilgrims and number of healings that have occurred.  information surrounding the Lourdes apparition, but very little about Bernadette. With great illustrations and a compelling story, your kids will love to learn about Our Lady of Lourdes in this graphic novel!

Saint Joan of Arc: Quest for Peace begins in the midst of the Hundred Years' War. England and France are deep in a war that has affected several generations of people. What is the motivation for this war? England is trying to gain control of France and make all their future kings, king of both England and France. France is in desperate need of a hero, a military force who will help end this war and secure victory. Little did they know that this hero would come in the form of a teenage girl named Joan.

The rest of this book then goes on and shows both battles and politics. With all her victories, people begin to wonder if Joan is actually a witch. However, it is clear that she has a close relationship with God and is a saint in the making. The politics were the saddest part of the book to me. Corrupt clergy and people in France were conspiring against Joan and France all for the love of money. The book then tragically ends with Joan being burnt at the stake. I falsely assumed that because this graphic novel was about a female saint that it would only appeal to girls. I was SORELY wrong, and I can see how it would appeal to boys and girls alike. It would also be an excellent supplement for a European or World History class to make the story of the Hundred Years' War come alive. I highly recommend this book.

Both of these books are worthy of the 5-star rating. Modern day graphic novels are full of questionable and unrealistic "superheroes," who live in a world of moral grays. These two graphic novels give us heroes of the Faith. They were ridiculed, persecuted, and endured many adversities. With God's help and guidance, they persevered and won the ultimate prize salvation and sainthood. May these books inspire us and our children to persevere in the faith and race toward the ultimate goal, our heavenly home!

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