After the success of Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning
"Gladiator" in 2000, audiences were excited to see his next
historical epic. Kingdom of Heaven, set during the period of violent struggle
known as The Crusades, tells the story of a blacksmith who rises to be the
champion of Jerusalem. It is fair to say that on its release Kingdom of Heaven
was not received as well as its predecessor. Gone was much of the melodrama,
the speechifying, and the fall and rise storyline, and replacing them was a
much more subtle, nuanced look at history. The film remains largely ambivalent
about The Crusades as a political and military project. There are a few
pantomime villains in the guise of the Templar knights, irredeemably racist
zealots who are single-minded in their determination to exterminate the muslim
population and retain control of the Holy Land. However, there are also
positive portrayals of knights, chivalrous and conflicted, the king of
Jerusalem is shown as a man striving for peace between the warring religions, and
most strikingly Saladin, the famed muslim commander, is shown to be a canny
general, just and compassionate. It is this complex picture that is perhaps the
films greatest strength. It is a story told on an epic scale, with several
warring factions and interweaving storylines. This is even more true of the
Director's Cut which re-inserts a story about the king's successor that was
entirely excised from the Theatrical release.
Ridley Scott is highly regarded as a great world builder,
both in his historical and science-fiction films, and this is no exception.
Every place that we visit, whether it is the French village at the beginning or
the sprawling city of Jerusalem complete with preachers, pilgrims, knights and
every manner of person, there is a clear attention to detail. Special effects
are used in sequences such as the Messina port and elsewhere, but never
overburden the film, and the battles all have a weight and realism to them.
There is a superb cast with Orlando Bloom fresh from his breakthrough role in
Lord of the Rings starring as Balian. It is a decent performance of this
conflicted character, who is coming to terms with the death of a child and his
wife's suicide, discovering his true father, and journeying to the Holy Land to
seek redemption. A cast that includes Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Eva Green,
David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, a small role for Michael Sheen, and an
uncredited Edward Norton as the king of Jerusalem, is surely reason alone to
watch this film. Harry-Gregson Williams score is incredible, evoking the
mystique of the middle-eastern cities, the plaintive religiosity of the period,
as well as soaring accompaniment to the battles. He uses traditional
instrumentation to create a sense of historicity and wonder.
I would highly recommend this film to fans of historical
epics, especially if you have a particular interest in the period. There are
weaknesses with the film. It perhaps could make itself clearer at times what
the import of characters or events are, and the complexity of the several
interweaving plots may detract from a more traditional action hero tale. This
is particularly evidenced in the closing scenes of the film, where the climax
is historically accurate but will perhaps leaves many with a feeling that there
should have been more of a triumphant ending. Personally, I believe this is
fantastic film, with great performances, score, cinematography, and a story
that is not only thrilling at times but also packed with interesting character
studies and difficult choices.
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