Review of Kingdom of Heaven (2005) by Manuel Z — 13 May 2017

Some movies get better over time. Everyone I know scoffs with bewilderment when I say this is my favorite film of all time. At its core is a blacksmith who goes on crusade because he believes he's committed an unforgivable sin.

Along the way you see how pervasive and twisted Medieval notions of religion arecompared to modern sensibilities based on the number of times and ways in which the will of God is invoked by crusaders and Muslims alike.

Set in between the 2nd and 3rd crusades there exists an uneasy peace between the Christian king of Jerusalem and the Muslim sultan Saladin. Those who are students of the history of this time period would note correct points of historical accuracy (easter eggs) in that Saladin did reconquer Jerusalem, Balian was the defender fighting for safe passage of its inhabitants, there was a leper king, and there is even a cameo by Richard the Lionheart.

The villain of the film Guy de Lusignan is played brilliantly by Marton Csokas. Although a member of the Christian knights templar, he's identified early on by the disdain of Balian's father Godfrey played by Liam Neeson.

Their brief exchange culminates with a medieval your mama joke. Guy and Reynald are not the bad guys of the film only due to Godfrey and Balian's personal dislike nor is it solely in that they are subverting the will of the king.

It's in their worldview of the crusades that there must be war between Christian and Muslims, and they are willing to raid caravans and kill innocents to force the issue. The turning point in the film is the refusal of Balian in Baldwin and Tiberius's plan, because it would amount to murder.

Even if the person deserves it and life would be better for everyone if Balian goes along, his whole reason for taking the crusade was to find redemption. Every one of the rest us would have taken the king's offer, but without it you wouldn't have the setup for the film's final and most blood-drenched act.

Instead of trying convince people of how perfect this film, over the years I've come to the conclusion that it's not for everybody. But if this sort of thing does interest you I think you'll end up loving this film more than the passing summer blockbuster that you'll enjoy but soon forget.

My advice is not to start with the director's cut but the theatrical version. The extra layers of the story are fine for fanatics but not necessary to form your initial opinion.