1025 – Jeanne d’Arc (1999)

timespace coordinates: France 1429 – 1431 (Hundred Years’ War)

Percival, about the Maid of Orleans:
The girl is of appealing beauty and manly bearing; she speaks little and shows remarkable sagacity; when she speaks she has a pleasing, delicately feminine voice. :{…} her tears often overflow; she loves a happy face, endures unheard of toil, and is so assiduous in the manipulation and bearing of weapons that she remains uninterruptedly for six days — day and night — in full armour.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d’Arc) is a 1999 French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin.

http://www.kommunicera.umea.se/hemma/mathias/

The Messenger portrays the story of St. Joan of Arc, the French war heroine and religious martyr of the 15th century. The story begins with young Joan as she witnesses the atrocities of the English against her family, and she is portrayed as having visions that inspire her to lead the French in battle against the occupying English forces. Her success in routing the English allows Charles VII to take the throne. Eventually Joan is captured by the English, tried and executed for heresy.

Luc Besson stated that he was not interested in narrating the history of Joan of Arc; rather, he wanted to pull a message out of history that is relevant for today. (read more: Themes)

Historical accuracy

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“Regardless of what Joan of Arc said about the appearance of the higher beings in her visions, the occultist who is able to investigate these things knows that it was always the genius of the French nation who stood behind them.” (rs)

1024 – The Golden Compass (2007)

timespace coordinates:  parallel universe – Victorian Jordan College in Oxford >  retrofuturistic London > experimental station Bolvanga – far North

The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, and Ian McKellen.

The film depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan living in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. Children in that universe are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers who are supported by the Magisterium. Lyra joins a tribe of sea-farers on a trip to the far North, the land of the armoured polar bears, in search of the missing children.

Before its release, the film received criticism from secularist organisations and fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy for the dilution of elements of the story which were critical of religion, as well as from some religious organisations for the source material’s anti-religious themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a “terrible” experience. Although the film’s visual effects won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated.  The film trilogy has not been continued, prompting actor Sam Elliott to blame censorship and the Catholic Church. (wiki)

Video game  The game was released prior to the film and features a slightly different sequence of events towards the end of the story, as well as additional footage at the end of the game not seen in the film. (playthrough)

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Controversies   /  Cancelled sequels 

imdb   /   His Dark Materials (TV Series 2019– )

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1754 – La Belle Sauvage (2017 novel)

1793 – The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust #2 – 2019)

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1022 – Dead Cells (2017 video game)

Dead Cells is a roguelike–metroidvania video game developed and published by Motion Twin. Following about a year in early access, Dead Cells was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on August 7, 2018.

In the game, the player takes the role of a slime-like creature that takes control of a corpse in a dungeon, through which they must fight their way out. The player gains various weapons, treasure and other tools through exploration of the procedurally-generated levels to fight undead creatures within it. At times, the player may gain “cells”, a type of in-game currency that can be used to purchase permanent upgrades or unlock new items for the player if they reach the vendor between each level. Dead Cells uses a permadeath system, causing the player to lose all cells and other currencies or items upon each instance of death.

The plot of Dead Cells is minimalistic, only giving bits of information to the player. Taking place on an unnamed island, the player character is referred to as the Prisoner, a humanoid with a pile of gelee or plantmatter in place of a head. The Prisoner is immortal, as every time he dies his “head” manages to lurch its way back to the starting prison. According to a guard, the Prisoner is said to have been executed for some crime, but the nature of the crime is never specified.

Every time the Prisoner dies, the island reconfigures itself, which serves as an explanation for the rogue-like mechanics. In the game, the reason for this is specified as the island being a living organism that evolves over time. In the end, he kills the Hand of the King and stabs the real king only to explode and wind up back at the start like nothing happened. (wiki)

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (MINIMUM): OS: Windows 7+ / Processor: Intel i5+ / Memory: 2 GB RAM / Graphics: Nvidia 450 GTS / Radeon HD 5750 or better / Storage: 500 MB available space / Additional Notes: DirectX 9.1+ or OpenGL 3.2+

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Easter Eggs and References 

steam   /   dead-cells.com

1020

1018 – Green Book (2018)

timespace coordinates: a tour of the Deep South, 1962

Green Book is a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Farrelly. Set in 1962, the film is inspired by the true story of a tour of the Deep South by Jamaican–American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and Italian-American bouncer Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) who served as Shirley’s driver and bodyguard.

The film was written by Farrelly, Brian Hayes Currie and Vallelonga’s son, Nick Vallelonga, based on interviews with his father and Shirley, as well as letters his father wrote to his mother. The film is named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, a mid-20th century guidebook for African-American travelers written by Victor Hugo Green, to help them find motels and restaurants that would accept them at a time of widespread racial segregation and sunset towns. (wiki)

imdb   /   controversies

1017 – Please Stand By (2017)

timespace coordinates: 2010’s Oakland, California > Los AngelesPlease Stand By is a 2017 American drama film directed by Ben Lewin and based on the 2008 short play of the same name by Michael Golamco, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Toni Collette, Alice Eve, River Alexander, and Patton Oswalt.

imdb

1014

Teaser for Bloom: Labyrinth

“Labyrinth is the sister game to a much larger RPG (and world) “Bloom: Memories” coming in the next year or so-ish.”

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Niffelheim (2016 – 2018)

Niffelheim_20190913170322

Niffelheim – Launch Trailer

Niffelheim Gameplay trailer [ Steam 2018]

Niffelheim – Viking Survival – Part 1 Let’s Play Niffelheim / PC Gameplay (early access)

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Your avatar is a brave warrior who has fallen in battle. But instead of finding well-deserved peace in Asgard, his soul is trapped in the harsh world of Niffelheim. Survive in this hostile world, ransack the neighboring lands, explore dangerous dungeons and find your way to Valhalla.

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Delivery from the Pain 末日方舟

steam / Gameplay

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“The Great Climate Shift” struck at end of the 21st century. Ninety six percent of the earth’s surface is underwater. Human civilization has fallen. Machines have adopted the shape and form of marine animals.
The ocean is full of creature-machine hybrid monsters. You are a “Hunter” and the new journey begins…

steam