First add a few basic knowledge. There is a clear difference between the "dynasties" of European countries and the dynasties of ancient China. In ancient China, whoever is the king will rule the world, and the change of dynasties is also based on this point. In Europe, due to the constraints of the Catholic Church, the succession to the throne is very "legal", and there is a clear distinction between nobility and common people. Even if there is an inheritance dispute, it is still between aristocratic families with royal blood, and the grass farmer will never make it out, let alone be a king. When the direct descendants of a dynasty are extinct, their collateral descendants will generally inherit the throne. The new royal family created in this way is not so closely related to the previous royal family, so a new "dynasty" is born. However, due to the intermarriage between European royal families, the king of one country often has the right to inherit the throne of another. This will appear in the situation where it is difficult for China to imagine that one person serves as the king of the two countries. According to the detailed inheritance law, the current heir to the British throne can be ranked to more than 4900 people. And "XX life" represents the first king named XX in the history of this country. Note that it is the first name, not the last name. Therefore, there will be a 500-year difference between Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II.
The fuse of the Hundred Years' War was that King Edward III of the Borse dynasty of England wanted to take advantage of the extinction of the Capet dynasty in France to take advantage of his close relatives to inherit the French throne, but failed. The French throne was acquired by Philip VI, so the Hundred Years in 1337 The war broke out. After nearly a hundred years of contention, the two sides also experienced the Black Death that swept Europe. In 1415, King Charles VI of France suddenly went crazy and lost the ability to handle affairs. The struggle for power within France has fallen into division. England took the opportunity to instigate the independence of the Burgundy region of France and set up the Burgundy Principality to jointly oppose the law. The French army was defeated at the Battle of Agincourt, and Charles VI and Henry V of England signed the Troyes Peace Treaty that almost destroyed France. The peace treaty stipulates that Henry V has the right to inherit the French throne after Charles VI's death. But in 1422 both died. The heir to the English throne is the baby Henry VI, and France is regent by the Duke of Bedford of England. However, Charles VII, the son of Charles VI, was unwilling to be ruled by an infant and decided to fight back, but it did not go well. When Orleans, the last important French stronghold, was under siege, Joan of Arc appeared.
Joan of Arc is an illiterate girl from the French countryside. Her deeds have obvious religious mystery. Under her leadership, the French army lifted the siege of Orleans in one fell swoop, defeated the British army steadily and retreated, and captured the French kings. Crowned to Reims, Charles VII was officially crowned King of France. After becoming king, Charles VII did not value Joan any more, and he began to consider peace talks with England and Burgundy. Joan continued to attack Paris and encountered the main army of the Duke of Bedford, the regent of England. The French army failed to win and was forced to retreat by the king's order. Later he was captured by the Burgundians in a skirmish. Charles VII did not actively rescue Joan, and the Burgundians handed Joan to England. After an English-manipulated religious trial, Joan was burned at the age of 19.
This action aroused the fighting spirit of the French. In the following 20 years, the French regained all the land occupied by England, and England lost all the territory in the European continent and returned to the British Isles. The Hundred Years' War ended here. This war greatly damaged the vitality of Britain and France, and at the same time completed the reunification of France. After the loss of mainland territory, Britain moved on to the road of maritime development.
Pulling away, come back to the movie. The film is directed by Luc Besson, and Joan of Arc is played by the red-haired girl Milla Jovovich in "The Fifth Element"-obviously not a beauty. The old drama Dustin Hoffman played a mysterious role in the film --- "The Conscience". Charles VII is played by the neurotic John Malkovich, whom I like very much. Vincent Cassel played a French general in the film.
The first half of the film is unremarkable and I am quite regretful. It describes how Joan of Arc perceives the will of God, experiences various miracles, and then miraculously leads France to victory. In this film, Joan does not show any combat ability and strategy. It is completely close to the hysterical religious enthusiasm and national enthusiasm. He takes the lead and depends on "God's help", or intuition and recklessness to win victory. This part is completely dedicated to shaping the divinity of Joan, confirming that she is the messenger of God, but the intention is to pave the way for the second half. However, I think the filming in this part is quite vulgar, and the performance of the actors is not very good except for Charles VII. Therefore, some film critics said that they wished to burn Luc Besson.
However, the plot progressed after Joan of Arc was captured, especially after the appearance of Dustin Hoffman's "The Conscience", the film had a fundamental change. The first is the religious trial, the controversy between the church and Joan about faith and heresy. Joan insisted that he was the messenger of God, and the church tried every means to falsify it. At this time, Joan showed outstanding logical ability and, of course, a strong will. These external advantages are supported by the firm belief in her heart-she believes that she really is the messenger of God, she is righteous, destined to follow God's guidance, defeat the invaders, and restore France. However, the appearance of the man in black with the character's name "The Conscience" (literally translated as "conscience" in Chinese, I think it may be closer to the heart of right and wrong)) completely destroyed the faith and spiritual support of Joan of Arc. First, the miracles that Joan perceives can actually be understood as natural phenomena or hallucinations, or various other explanations. However, Joan obsessively believes that everything is a manifestation of God. Joan did not believe him, so the man in black turned into a god, and suddenly turned into a Satan, and Joan's faith collapsed---who knows what God looks like, who knows what Satan looks like? Maybe what she perceives and exercises is Satan's will? Second, what Joan chanted in combat was the slogan of fighting in her name, not in the name of God. From the side, it was pointed out that the deepest power in Joan's heart was actually the power of revenge---I witnessed my sister in childhood. The seeds of revenge sowed by the British army. She was wounded in the battle and failed to conquer Paris. Although there are objective reasons, it also shows that she is just a strong-willed female warrior, not a messenger of God.
On the other hand, the church, at least the archbishop in charge of the trial, firmly believes that he is the messenger of God and that Jeanne is a heresy. In this way, there is a debate between the church and Joan of Arc. However, the Duke of Bedford and others in England used military power to coerce the church unscrupulously. England only wanted to use the church to prove that Joan was a heretic witch and put it to fire to destroy the will of the French. This is also an embarrassing situation for the church—is it a vassal or a serious trial?
The words of the Duke of Burgundy, who captured Joan of Arc, said: “Personally, I don’t believe in God. Of course, when I need to prove myself, seek profit, or oppress others, God is omnipotent. That's it."
When Joan was tortured by fire, she restored her human nature. After experiencing hardships, she realized the erratic fate, but she accepted the arrangement of fate. At this time, she resumed her faith---accepting the arrangement of fate---or God's arrangement.
The second half of the film can be considered as insightful. For 500 years, the image of Joan of Arc has been mostly used. This film hopes to return her to an independent identity. It is a good attempt.
But the first half is still ugly.
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