Special to Review: Kingdom of Heaven

‘Kingdom of Heaven’ in the Heart & Mind of Ridley Scott
Pakinam Amer Arab News
Special to Review —

Brought to the Egyptian cinemas on May 4, Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven,” a historical epic about the 12th century crusades, featured the gruesome battles that Christian crusaders fought against Muslims for the right to claim Jerusalem, “God’s Kingdom on Earth.”
The movie tells the story of Balian (Orlando Bloom), a young blacksmith, stricken over the death of his wife and questioning his own faith, who by the twist of fate becomes a knight and the defender of Jerusalem.
In a formidable portrayal of raging battles, human conflicts, the outcries of fanatics, the melancholy of a torn city and a person in search of conscience and justice, Scott — the director of “Gladiator” — tried to give a message of peace. His eyes saw far beyond the holy buildings of stone and focused on the humanity and the drama beyond the walls of Jerusalem.
Trying not to offend any faith or undermine the sanctity of Jerusalem, through the 145-minute picture, Scott gives the audience a depiction — lively, spirited and shocking at times — of this era in history when Christian fanaticism almost destroyed the peaceful kingdom that the Christian King Baldwin IV and Kurdish Muslim leader Salahuddin dreamed of making.
We see crusader kings and priests shouting at cavalry and soldiers “God wills it” every time they wish to strike for their supremacy on Jerusalem, and not for righteousness, igniting a war between the two peoples of faith.
The beauty of the different religious rituals and the unity of believing were not seen by the fanatics. Their prayers “are similar to ours,” Balian, the Christian knight, acknowledged this truth as he witnessed a Muslim prayer at one point. However, the commonness of faith in both religions — Islam and Christianity — was overlooked by the militant crusaders who were blinded by their desire of wealth and power, according to Scott’s representation.
The Egyptian audience, who flocked to movie theaters hoping for an objective Hollywood portrayal of Arabs and Muslims “for a change,” was not disappointed.
Scott showed chivalry, graciousness and courage of most Muslim fighters and the leader Salahuddin. Through Mullah, a small but a important character played by Egyptian actor Khaled Al-Nabawi, Scott implied that a “Jihadist zeal” could be existent on the two sides of the battlefield.
A Christian friend, Peter Magdy, told me after seeing the movie that “it gave all of us Muslims and Christians some sort of a chance to enjoy another blockbuster Hollywood movie and in the meanwhile think about each other’s differences in a positive way.”
Asking a Muslim friend, Jasmine Abul-Khair, to see if she has a different opinion, she said that “not just as a Muslim” but as someone who tries to be objective, “I believe that the movie gives a very fair reflection of this time in history… However, the most important message in the movie was one concerning war… War is never to the benefit of the people, it is never for the people.” War is even worse if people try to misuse religion in order to justify it, she added.
Some historians agree that the movie does not only represent Muslims and Christians reasonably, but also many aspects of history like the advancement of medicine and battle techniques that the Muslim world had ahead of Europe in this period, and that Scott touches upon. The minor historical inaccuracies, on the other hand, could be tolerated since they were complimentary to the whole drama.
Then again, Scott doesn’t need to be apologetic, it is not a documentary… it is a movie and it is Hollywood.
Apart from a picture that overwhelms its audience with beautiful intermixed Arabic and Western music, striking art direction and strapping battle scenes — a marvel for the senses — Scott impresses the audience by his choice of cast.
Ghassan Massoud, a renowned Syrian actor, shows his brilliance in playing Salahuddin, the charismatic leader whose wisdom and allure is shaped by years of hardship, a portrait that Massoud does not fail to deliver.
When he proudly said, “I am Salahuddin… Salahuddin,” we believed him.
Liam Neeson, playing Godfrey of Ibelin, a Christian nobleman and Balian’s father, produced an unforgettable performance in his few but emotionally deep scenes. Bloom’s acting was as deep and moving as the knight he played.
However, one of the smartest and the most impressive performances was given by Edward Norton, who played the rightful Baldwin whose illness with leprosy kept him behind a silver mask throughout the epic. The mask unleashed Norton’s genius. His strong presence, splendid flair and his words remain with the audience beyond the end of the picture.
“It was one grand creation; technically impressive,” Tareq Al-Shinnawi, well-known Egyptian film critic said about the “Kingdom of Heaven.” “I believe that Scott, through this movie, was asking all sides engaging in war on the Holy Land to throw down their weapons… the war on this land stains its sacredness.”
“Unlike Yousef Shahin’s movie ‘Salahuddin the Victorious’… Scott did not give a specific religious identity or a nationality to Jerusalem. He just wanted the clamor of battles to be heard in the Holy Land no more,” Al-Shinnawi said.
Like Balian’s land, that represents Scott’s wishful thinking of the real kingdom of heaven, Jerusalem should be where Muslims, Christians and Jews live side by side.
Like Balian accepting the diversity of families living on his lands, digging along with his people for “water” to make the land prosper, Scott wanted to see Jerusalem and its people working for the same cause and searching for “a life” together. “A kingdom of conscious instead of war, love instead of hate.”
“Peace be with you… Assalamu Alaikum,” the Islamic greeting, that echoed and we heard from different tongues throughout the movie, is the call Scott sent for the ever-suffering Jerusalem and those who fight over it.