“Kingdom Of Heaven” was directed by Ridley Scott (“Alien”, “Black Hawk Down”) and is exactly what I wanted to see. You can talk about its philosophical questions about mortality, eternity and righteousness and you can draw parables between its historical violence in the Middle East and the violence we see there today but what’s most impressive is just how good a film it is. Scott knows how to direct the perfect huge-scale sequences but leave enough character development for it work efficiently.
It’s set 100 years after the First Crusade, in which the Christians seized Jerusalem from the Muslims. We meet Balian (Orlando Bloom “Troy”), whose wife committed suicide and who killed a priest, as he seeks redemption for both himself and his wife by fighting for the Crusaders. Although currently at peace, some Crusaders and the Muslims’ crafty Saladin (Ghassan Massoud) want war.
Bloom is not the best actor here but he conveys a man striving to better himself and his people in a world full of conflicting ideology. Edward Norton (“Fight Club”) gets an uncredited role as King Baldwin, who might be the most interesting character in the film. Saladin is great too. Other good actors include Liam Neeson (“Taken”) and Jeremy Irons (“Eragon”).
The action sequences are incredible and combined with the deep, meaningful questions; we end up with a film truly worthy of seeing. The conflict is truly brutal as the Crusaders battle to keep the holy city of Jerusalem in their hands while the Muslims want it back in theirs with all that take up arms believing they have a deity on their side. “Kingdom Of Heaven” might not be quite as inclusive as Scott’s “Black Hawk Down” due to the narrative but it is a moving piece, a very moving piece. Why are there not more historical epics? Only God knows, I guess.
