Kingdom Of Heaven By Ridley Scott

Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott, is a movie based upon the life of a Christian named Balian. The movie begins in 1184 with Balian working as a blacksmith in a French village. Balian’s son previously passed away, unfortunately leading to his wife’s suicide. For his wife’s burial, the local priest, Balian’s younger brother, orders his wife beheaded (a common medieval practice for victims of suicide). Godfrey, the Baron of Ibelin, approaches Balian in the village explaining to him that he knew his mother (Balian is Godfrey’s bastard son, but he is not told till later in the film) while requesting him to follow him into the crusades. Balian denies the request by saying, “I want nothing”. Balian discovers that his brother demanded the beheading of his wife, Balian murders him, flees in the village and joins Godfrey’s quest in search of forgiveness
The first thing which Ebert points out is that the director, Ridley Scott, knows how to direct a historical epic. Ebert goes on to say that Kingdom of Heaven is better than, Scott’s own, Gladiator; he says, “[Kingdom of Heaven is] deeper, more thoughtful, more about human motivation and less about action” (Ebert). The second point Ebert explains is that Scott is a brave man to release a movie about the wars between Christians and Muslims for Jerusalem; however, a Muslim scholar, Hamid Dabashi debunks the fact saying that it is neither pro-Christian or pro-Muslim but more about a profound act of faith. Dabashi believes the film revolves around an act of faith because although Balian is a non-believer, “All religious affiliations fade in the light of his melancholic quest to find a noble purpose in life” (Ebert). Ebert was pleasantly satisfied through the deeper meaning, historically accurate storyline, and the cinematography of Ridley Scott, consequently he gave the movie a 3.5/4