Here is A vivid, emotionally rich write-up for someone who hasn’t seen the films—highlighting how Ingrid Bergman, Milla Jovovich, and Rachel Zegler each brought their own fire to the role of Jeanne d’Arc, while honoring the saint’s enduring legend:
You don’t need to know every detail of the Hundred Years’ War to feel the power of Jeanne d’Arc on screen—because the story speaks through the fire in her eyes, the trembling of her voice, and the sheer force of belief that turned the tide of history.
Milla Jovovich, in Joan of Arc (1999), was Jeanne. Not just playing her—embodying her. With raw intensity and spiritual fervor, Mila channels a teenage girl who believed so fiercely in divine voices that she led armies and reshaped a nation's fate. You can feel the urgency in her cry, "Vive la France, vive Jeanne d'Arc!" Her Jeanne isn’t delicate—she’s fierce, conflicted, driven by visions and purpose, yet aching with the weight of war. There’s one hauntingly beautiful historical note woven into the film: during the siege of Orléans in 1429, Jeanne shot an arrow carrying a message to the English. It said, in old French: "Retourne en Angleterre, ou je te bouteray hors, de gré ou de force" ("Return to England, or I will boot you out, willingly or by force")—a bold line that only Jeanne could pull off.
https://youtube.com/shorts/nz3i8USfHxs?si=PsNpIvPI3y-HUiVv
Ingrid Bergman portrayed Jeanne decades earlier, first in Joan of Arc (1948), then again in Saint Joan at the Stake (1954). Her portrayal is more serene, reverent—a young woman torn between heavenly voices and earthly injustice. Bergman's Jeanne is a candle in the cathedral: glowing, devout, and unshakably faithful. She carries the role with such purity and moral conviction that you can't help but see the martyr beneath the armor. Watching her, it feels like you're witnessing not just the saint's life—but her inner sanctity.
Now, imagine a modern Jeanne: Rachel Zegler—young, soulful, and full of lightning. Her Jeanne hasn’t hit the big screen yet, but if you see her in West Side Story, you already know what kind of truth she can speak with her eyes. Rachel’s Jeanne would bring the voice of youth, of rebellion, of prophecy in an age desperate for clarity. She would be the Jeanne who not only leads but feels the pulse of her people—every scream, every heartbreak, every hope. If she ever takes the role, it would be a Jeanne for the new generation.
In all these portrayals, one truth stands out: Jeanne d’Arc wasn’t just a warrior. She was a visionary—a field commander who outmaneuvered the experts of her time not by force alone, but by faith, strategy, and a deep connection to something beyond this world. She didn’t fight with sword in hand—but she moved men to victory.
If you haven’t seen these films, do. They aren’t just war dramas or historical reenactments. They’re love letters to courage, to conviction, and to a young woman who burned so brightly that she lit a path through the dark.
