It is an epic adventure, a tale of Crusaders fighting Muslims in the
Holy Land during the 12th century, that takes no sides.
Orlando Bloom plays Balian, a blacksmith in a small
town in France. He grieves the recent loss of his wife and child and
he has been abandoned by God. He also learned that he is the illegitimate
son of a famed Knight Godfrey (Liam Neeson).
His father is a Crusader in Jerusalem who wants his
son to join him in the Holy Land. Godfrey visited his son and gives
him the credo that should shape his life "Be without fear in the
face of your enemies. Speak the truth always even if it leads to your
death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath...".
Balian forgets all about his grief and joins his newly found father
and his followers.
In 1184,Jerusalem was ruled by a Christian King, Baldwin
IV (Edward Norton). He has made deals with Muslim King Saladin's (Ghassan
Massoud) army to have a tenuous peace in the city so that Christians,
Muslims and Jews can worship in their own place and live in harmony.
But Guy de Lusignam (Marti Hancock), the husband of King's sister Sibylla
(Eva Green) is looking for ways to create problems for King Baldwin
so that he can be the next King. Guy finds reasons like solidify the
control of the city by Christians, to attack Saladin's army.
Beautiful
Sibylla is not happy with her reckless, ambitious husband Guy and ends
up having a romantic relationship with Balian. Meanwhile, Balian kept
up with his endeavors to transform Jerusalem into a "Kingdom Of
Heaven" where Christians, Muslims and Jews can happily coexist
and live in harmony.
Director Ridley Scott, the master of modern epic, has
marvelously recreated a 12th Century historical story into an action
filled adventurous film. Some of the ensemble are based on the actual
historical events and some are just fictional. He masterfully combines
historical facts and romantic fantasy to give the film a modern day
effect. He puts emphasis on the values of virtue, sacrifice and piety.
He is conveying a message to the world by producing a movie about one
of the most intolerant periods in world history, and preaching tolerance
as a way to a peaceful future.
Orlando Bloom as Balian presents a decent performance.
He very well portray a man who meets his destiny with a cool head. But
Beautiful Eva Green does not meet the expectations of Queen Sibylla.
She doesn't show the charisma and presence of Sibylla.
The movie has some flaws- like Christians are portrayed
as arrogant people and Muslims the other way around, but the well crafted
script keeps the movie in balance. The movie has many parallels to today's
world situation. Scott is reminding us that religious wars are wrong,
whether the war is a crusade in the Middle Ages or a terrorist attack
in our times and religious tolerance is an integral part of the future.
Brilliantly cast and produced, the film meets the expectations of a
glorious epic. Pictorial richness of the film is a sumptuous treat for
the eyes. You may not come out of the theatre feeling better educated
in history, but you will enjoy this marvelous movie.
We rate this movie GOOD.
