Release Date: 5 May 2005

Synopsis :

From the Director of Gladiator, Ridley Scott, comes an epic romantic action/adventure set in 12th Century Europe and the exotic East during the Crusades. Orlando Bloom stars as a young peasant who becomes a renowned knight, saves a kingdom, and in the midst of it all falls in love with a princess. Co-starring are Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons and Edward Norton.

Movie Review:

Hollywood filmmakers have long been blamed for causing confusion to our children (and even adults) with their movies that hard sell as “historic” or “epic” production. Though the movie poster bears no statement like “Based on true historical events”, it is still undeniable that the incorrect facts delivered by these movies, would be adamant on the mind of our children and adults alike. In spite of the negative effects and criticism, such “twister” continue to spring off; “Kingdom of Heaven” the latest epic movie by Ridley Scott, the man behind the successful “Gladiator”, is unfortunately one such movie.

Set in the 12th century, the story tells the life of Balian (Orlando Bloom), a blacksmith who long-lost father, Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) invited him to Jerusalem, coincidentally on the day of his wife’s burial. Believing that Jerusalem is the place where he could atone for the sins of his late wife, who had committed suicide over the lost of their son (by the Catholic doctrine, those committed suicide would be banished to hell), Balian agrees to follow his father. Unfortunately for Balian, Godfrey does not hang around with him for long either. After sharing a short moment of sword training, Godfrey sustained a deadly wound along the way to Jerusalem. Before his final hour, Godfrey knight Belian and confers upon him the title “Baron of Ibelin”. Balian continues the journey and finally arrives in Jerusalem and became the ally of the leper king, Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), and the Marshall of Jerusalem, Tiberias (Jeremy Irons). The opposite fraction of King Baldwin IV led by Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas), one of the most influential man in Jerusalem, instantly disgusted by Balian’s presence, citing his peasant background misfit to be a knight. But that does not deters Balian from having an affair with his wife, Sibylla, the Princess of Jerusalem (Eva Green) while the unsuspecting Guy plots to overthrown Baldwin IV by disrupting the peace in Jerusalem with his sabotage on Muslim civilians belonging to the powerful Arab leader Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). When Saladin mobilised his army of 200,000 men, threatening to take back Jerusalem from the Christians, the ex-blacksmith shown his excellently crafted swordplay and war tactics, defending the people within the city walls.

If you have look into the historian’s findings about Jerusalem, you may want to thank Screenwriter, William Monahan for simplifying things for the audience to digest. However, the kind intention had even distorted the background of the historical figures, turning some heroes to zeros and vice versa.

Balian’s father, Godfrey of Ibelin, was invented. The fact is Balian was the son of Barisan of Ibelin, had two elder brothers and was blissfully married with a son. His wife did not committed suicide for a lost son as what was stated in the movie.

The relation between Balian and Sibylla was fictional. Sibylla was happily married to Guy de Lusignan. In the movie, the affairs between Balian and Sibylla had started off to be the focal point, however, retreated into redundancy as the plots developed, leaving you wondering what is the intention of the scriptwriter for unjustly alleging that both were sexually linked.

In the political aspect, the succession to Baldwin IV’s throne was not directly handed to Sibylla as what portrayed in the movie. It was in fact first handed down to Sibylla’s son, Baldwin V, who died after briefly ruled Jerusalem for a few months. Guy de Lusignan took over the throne and Balian reluctantly served him. It was unsure whether the feud between Guy de Lusignan and Balian in the movie truly existed in that fashion, but the gradual evaporation of this vengeance left many audiences unsatisfied. It could have been a challenging conclusion between the two men, one holding absolute power while the other endeared by the people, but this anticipation failed to realize it's fullest potential.

In one scene, Balian advised Guy not to move his army out of the city wall as that is what Saladin wanted them to do. However, the proud Guy disregards Balian warning and proceed to meet Saladin’s army in this well-known historical battle, the Battle of Hattin while Balian stay put in the city, preparing for the final confrontation together with the people. Again, Historians have different interpretation on this part - It is Balian’s brother, who had advised Guy not to move the army out of the city and Balian actually follow Guy to the battle but fortunately escape the defeat while Guy was held captive.

In the movie, Guy’s fate, though seem to be one of the anchor point, was left unexplained after the Battle of Hattin. On the other hand, Balian catapulted to become well respected and love by his comrades even though he does not have much military might or having gone through any “thick and thin” with them, was rather illogical. In addition, how Balian became so well crafted with sword and war tactics after receiving a few minutes of lesson from his father, Godfrey was again rationally questioned.

The concluding battle in the movie shows Balian defending Jerusalem against the army of Saladin. However, the history book had stated that it was Sibylla who commanded the defense although Balian indeed negotiated the subsequent surrender of Jerusalem to Saladin. The scriptwriter had turned Sibylla into a humble woman-in-love whereas in actual fact she plays an important role in Jerusalem’s history and was well known for her craftiness and political intelligence.

The long list of flaws and historical discrepancy fortunately does not hinder audience senses in enjoying the movie. While it is disappointing that none of the casts particularly excel in their performance: the talented Edward Norton hidden behind an iron masks for his role as leper Baldwin IV, Liam Neeson “game over” too soon, boyish-face Orlando Bloom unconvincing in such macho role; it was Ridley Scott’s mastery in handling the sets that again marvel audiences. You are spared from the overly used clashes between sea of soldiers like those of “Lord of the Rings” or “Troy”. The battle scenes were being handled to the finest details with bird eye and wide-angle views presenting you with the formation and movement of the troops in encountering the opponent’s attack. The locations of filming were also well chosen, giving you many eye- pleasing and unforgettable sceneries.

Kingdom of Heaven may not delivers correct historical facts nor does it gives you a better idea of the religious conflicts over Jerusalem, which continue to exist till today. However, where most epic movies had failed, Scott done a great job keeping the action sequences tight but not forgetting to deliver the message of respect and tolerance towards oneself and others. Balian’s vows to protect the people and not the stones of the city, hopefully could serve as a timely reminder to some of today’s “hungry” Country leading man, who seem to be more interested in gaining personal benefits at the expense of the people’s lives.

Movie Rating: B


Review by Leosen