This is the second part of my review of Kingdom of Heaven. The first one it's posted in Spanish in La Hoguera de las Necedades and in English as the previous entry to this one and it presents my opinion of the movie in a somewhat formal way. This one pretends to present a more personal view of the movie and its ideological content. The original version of this text it is in the Spanish version of this blog.
But first some background information. As almost any boy my age -and I guess any other age too- I grew up surrounded by stories of magic, fantasy and adventure. Superheroes, magicians, warriors, barbarians, pirates and all kind of adventurers were an important part of my childhood. As well as knights. Stories about knight protecting princesses or defending kingdoms from dragons, witches or warlords have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.
One of the first Disney movies I remember it's The Sword in the Stone which deals with Merlín trying to prepare young Arthur to be the leader who will become a legend. And I guess than that was the beginning of my interest in some themes that even today hold my attention. The Arthurian Cycle, The Knights of the Round Table. The ethics and moral code of knights. And maybe the most marked, an ever growing love and fascination with swords, swordfighting and the ethos involving them.
And Kingdom of Heaven explores some of those themes. The ideals and moral code associated with knighthood and represented here by Balian, Godfrey and Tiberias -and, I'd like to point out, being sensitive enough to show its darker aspects and the possibility of corruption, as shown through Chatillon and Lusignon- are an important part of the story as they become a new paradigm for someone who have lost his faith in everything else. On the other hand, Scott's attention to detail allows the viewer to appreciate some very well executed swordfight.
It seems that what bothered most to the film's critics -and here I'd like to express the surprisingly opposite views of the film, from masterpiece to completely inocuous- it's the lack of depth in some of the characters. And really that it's something that never crossed my mind while viewing the movie. Most of the characters are defined, perhaps too lightly, by a few lines or by their reactions to certain situations. And I am a strong believer in the fact that the audience must be more than a receiver, it should process information and give closure to portions of information. And that applies to any form of art or creative work. I don't need for Tiberias to go into gory detail of the atrocities that changed his mind and role in life from warrior to peace advocate. I can accept Balian's "I've lost my religion" and imagine all tue questions and doubts going through his mind. I cant help but wonder at Baldwin and Saladin's dream of building a true Kingdom of Heaven were all men can live together in peace, as equals.
Another strong reason to enjoy the movie was the balance in the exposure of the main characters ideologies. There's not a sign of the usual "good versus evil", were all the heroes are virtuous and all of the villains are pure evil. There are good and bad people on both sides and in different degrees. Both sides have their fair share of fanatics, capable of any atrocity -always in the name of God, of course- as well as centered and rational characters who always seek to avoid unnecesary bloodshed.
Some lines I find truly fascinating. Balian calls to the defense of Jerusalem saying, "we are not fighting for these walls. We are fighting for the people that lives inside these walls". In another scene Balian points out the similarities in both cultures prayers. It seems like a bold move on Scott's part to put aside religion as a theme for his movie, especially if we consider than the crusades started as a "Holy War". Instead he explores humanity, honor, the human spirit and the quest for peace as the ideologic core of his story.
And those are ideals that should be as important and worth fighting for now as they were eight hundred years ago.
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