KINGDOM OF HEAVEN [ROADSHOW DIRECTOR'S CUT] (2005)
Updated: Dec 11, 2022
A Compelling and Thought-Provoking Look at the Crusades
Grade: A-
(**Spoiler Alert!!**)
To make a movie about the Crusades is automatically risky. That period was one of the most infamous in the history of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, with many battles fought and countless lives lost over the city of Jerusalem. Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven takes an interesting approach to this subject by following a man who begins the story as a Christian traveling to Jerusalem to seek forgiveness, but ultimately adopts a more objective view of the Crusades. The result is an epic film rich in detail, beauty, and conflict.
The film opens in France in 1184, where a man named Balian (Orlando Bloom, in his second blacksmith role after Pirates of the Caribbean) is imprisoned after failing to stop his wife from taking her own life after the stillborn death of their child. Right from the start we sense the raw, realistic tone of the movie upon seeing how Christians treated each other at the time when one of them stepped even a little out of line. One character even mentions at one point that Christendom allows things to happen that even Christ would be incapable of.
After Balian is released, he is visited by his previously-unknown father, Godfrey (Liam Neeson), a knight of the Crusades who wants his son to accompany him back to Jerusalem, which had been wrested from Muslim control by the Christians a century before. Balian is initially reluctant until his brother, a priest (Michael Sheen) pushes him too far by reminding him of his wife's apparent judgment for committing suicide. Balian kills him and joins his father, who is mortally wounded in an ambush. Before dying, Godfrey tells Balian his dream of Jerusalem becoming a place of peace for Christians and Muslims alike, a dream shared by King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton).
But as Balian arrives in Jerusalem, he sees that not everyone shares this vision. The despicable Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas) of the Knights Templar yearns for war with the Muslims and instantly becomes enemies with Balian. It isn't long before Balian starts questioning his faith. When war becomes inevitable, he finds himself fighting not to save Jerusalem, but the people within it.
At the heart of the film are the multiple ideals, dreams, and conflicts between and within the characters on the Christian side of the war. The Templars hate Muslims and think killing them is their ticket to Heaven, yet they are opposed by people like Baldwin and Balian, who want peace. Guy, the Templar leader, is hypocritical since he is mainly motivated by glory instead of a service to God. Even Balian's dream, noble though it may be, is compromised by his principles. When he is given an opportunity by a dying Baldwin to execute Guy and prevent war, he refuses, thinking it goes against his father's vision of Jerusalem being a place of conscience. This situation reminds the viewer that peace is no easy thing to come by, and it never will be.
In typical Ridley Scott fashion, the visuals and production of Kingdom of Heaven are something to behold. Incredible care has been taken by everyone involved to recreate the time period, from the cottages and castle of the French village to the magnificent and incredible architecture of Jerusalem. The landscapes are breathtaking; snow falls on the village beneath an overcast sky, dark storm clouds cover a section of the desert, and sunlight pours through sand kicked up by an army's horses. And the final battle between Balian's army and Muslim leader Saladin is spectacular, as flaming boulders rain down on Jerusalem at night and siege towers are pulled down during the day.
Tradition versus Thought is the biggest struggle in the movie, and it reaches its peak in the powerful conclusion. Balian dares to think beyond the scope of Christian belief in a desperate effort to save his people from destruction. To this end he respects Saladin and agrees to surrender Jerusalem in exchange for the safe delivery of its people to freedom. Even Saladin respects his adversary and, when the Muslim army occupies Jerusalem, he refuses to walk on an engraving of the cross on the floor and even sets up a gold cross that had fallen over (Would this have really happened during the Crusades? Probably not, but the movie was never pretending to be a documentary). In this way, Kingdom of Heaven does not condemn either religion. Instead, it views the Crusades through a modern lens in the form of characters who question its violence and the contradictions of their own beliefs. It may not be historically accurate, but it is still a powerful and thought-provoking story and a truly epic film.
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: William Monahan
Producer: Ridley Scott
Cast: Orlando Bloom (Balian), Eva Green (Sibylla), Jeremy Irons (Tiberias), David Thewlis (The Hospitaller), Brendan Gleeson (Raynald), Marton Csokas (Guy de Lusignan), Edward Norton (King Baldwin IV), Michael Sheen (Priest), Liam Neeson (Godfrey), Velibor Topic (Amalric), Ghassan Massoud (Saladin), Alexander Siddig (Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani), Khaled Nabaway (Mullah)
Rated: R (for strong violence and epic warfare)
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