Review of Kingdom of Heaven (2005) by Yuri B — 18 Jan 2011

It's said that every story is a love story. For Ridley Scott (also director of Gladiator), the violent and bloody crusades that took place between Christians and Muslims over the control of Jerusalem is the perfect backdrop for a love story to take place.

Kingdom of Heaven begins as Balin (Orlando Bloom) who is a blacksmith in France is told he is the illegitimate son of the Crusader Sir Godfrey (Liam Neeson). He takes on his dying father's cause to serve King Baldwin (Edward Norton), a young man who hides his face behind a silver mask, in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Balian is unaware that accepting his father's cause will mean serving in an epic holy war where his morals and stance on love will be tested. After inheriting Godfrey's land, people and knights, the leprosy infected king is weak and needs Balian's help to protect Jerusalem from the Muslim's who have become enraged by murders committed in the name of overzealous Crusaders. The discord between Saladin (Ghassan Massoud) and the Knights of the Templar are threatening to destroy the city. Just before the king's death, Balian and the king's sister Sibylla (Eva Green) begin to fall in love. Balian finds the desires of his heart conflicts with his morals because she is married.

Scott weaves in a love story as the religious strife between Saladin and his men and the Knight of the Templar shakes the already unstable walls of the city. Knowing he is on the verge of death, the king urges Balian to wed his sister and stop her husband who is a member of the zealous Knights of the Templar. Killing Sibylla's husband would prevent him from taking control of the city and waging war on the Muslims, but Balian refuses to marry Sibylla and chooses to protect the city from Saladin's attacks as a knight.

I enjoyed the film and how Balian, the hero, is portrayed as a knight unwilling to abandon his morals for a king, a kingdom and even for love. Balian's character shines through as a frustrating young man. It's obvious that accepting the king's proposal and marrying Sibyll would have prevented Saladin's attack on the Christian controlled Jerusalem. I feel that Scott focuses less on the religious meaning between the Muslims and Christians, and more on values; the dialogue between the characters is profound and I found myself focusing less on the action. The swordfights and combat between soldiers is realistic and stimulating, and Scott does a great job re-creating structures from ancient Jerusalem. However, I thought the emphasis placed on dialogue allowed me to objectively view the movie rather than subjectively contemplating the epic battle between Christians and Muslims. For me, the plot and the love for Sibylla that Balian restrains as a virtuous knight is what makes the movie memorable.

I would recommend this film to action buffs and love story viewers alike, since Scott seems to present an unbiased tale of the battle for Jerusalem, and romantically adds in a romantic triangle between Sibylla, her husband and Balian. I would caution that this is not a film for viewers who are firm believers of either the Christian or Muslim faction in the fight to control Jerusalem. I think Scott presents the case that a few fanatic knights can cause a war, and retaliation from the opposite side is inevitable and unavoidable.