"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc", is very interesting from a spiritual point of view. Basically one of the main themes explored in the movie is the issue of us being an "Instrument of God" (just being the "Messenger" as Joan states it in the movie) and at the same time having free-will and responsibility for our own actions.

Basically it's the paradox of "I am not the Doer" Vs. "I am the Doer".

Since hopefully most of us are familiar with the general story of Joan of Arc, I'll skip the intro, but In the movie Joan leads an army of French to drive away the English and break the siege of Orleans (a French City) and help to crown the king of France. In the movie she is shown on horseback usually carrying a banner. However in a few instances she is shown carrying a sword.

Later, at her trial this becomes a symbol for her sins. God's message to her was to lead the French and convince the English (via force or persuasion) to leave France - in this capacity, she carried the banner to lead others. However, because of her own hatred for the English (in the movie she is given a motivation to hate the English) she also decides (on her own) to carry the sword and engage in some of the fighting and glory taking herself.

The way the movie portrays it, it is these acts of her own (born of pride, selfishness, stubbornness, hatred) which contribute to her being captured and eventually burned at the stake. In the movie, just before her execution, she realizes her failings - that although she was given this task by God, she was not as pure a messenger as she thought she was. She largely carried out her vision of God's Will, but allowed her own personality, desires, etc.. to tinge this mission with the redness of personal desire - and for this she had to pay the karmic price.

To me this story is illustrative of K8, and of what happens when we don't have the Red Lion fully tamed, and yet we try to fill the shoes of the Hermit K9 (Leader-Messenger from God - Hero-Virgo-Virgin-Maid of Orleans).

We get confused about who's really wearing the crown (we mistake our will for God's Will) and we get our false tower blasted (K16).

On a more visceral level, the movie really rocks with lots of medieval hacking and slashing, catapults, siege engines, gothic armor, dismemberment, etc... - and then calls it all into question in a very effective way, allowing the movie viewer to question their own emotional reactions - a sort of mid-movie K14 self-test on whether or not we (in the audience) enjoyed watching the bloody spectacle of it all.