by Michael Allen

Created on: September 18, 2008

"Kingdom of Heaven" is a tale about adventure, bloodshed, spirituality, love, and the undeniable goodness of man but what makes this movie more than a modern day epic? Written by William Monahan and directed by Ridley Scott "Kingdom of Heaven" is a sly social commentary on the conflicts between religious groups that have spanned centuries. Even today with the tensions in the middle-east rising there is a message that can be taken away from this film and applied to conflicts worldwide. The major themes of "Kingdom of Heaven" along with and introduction of the main characters will be loosely tied in with the current events in the middle-east. Themes such as spirituality being found in good actions rather than religious law, and that the purpose of each individual is to make the world a better place will be the primary focus of this analysis.

Throughout "Kingdom of Heaven" there are shots of Muslims praying towards Mecca and Christian symbolism; the theme of spirituality being found within not without is central to the story. Present day evangelists might scoff at this message as they ask for their parishioners to donate, donate, and donate in order to find redemption. However, the message that spirituality is a journey from within is repeated often in "Kingdom of Heaven." Specifically, halfway into the movie Balian (Orlando Bloom) states "God does not speak to me" (Kingdom) This dialogue occurs after Balian visits Temple Mount, the place of Christ's crucifixion, where Balian realizes that his adventure to the holy land was in vain because what he was truly searching for, understanding and forgiveness, was within himself the whole time.

One character, the Hospitaler (David Thewlis) acts as a type of spiritual conscience to Balian with lines like, "Courage is in right action...and goodness" (Kingdom)

Another recurring theme in "Kingdom of Heaven" is that each person must make the world a better place to live for all people. This theme is shown in many scenes including one where Balian builds a well for some farmers near Ibelin. The ability to find water in the desert unifies the Jews, Muslims, and Christians all of whom live and work near Ibelin. As well, King Baldwin (Edward Norton) struggles to keep a restless peace between an early nomadic group of Muslims, known as Saracens and the Christians who occupy Jerusalem. This task is a challenging one as members of The Knights Templar like, Chatillion (Brendan Gleeson) and Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas) wish to wage

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