"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 war on the Muslims. Some might say that a comparison could be made here between The Knight's Templar of the past and the war profiteers of today. However, Ridley Scott's message comes through in that to make the world a better place members of different religions must be protected and it is through the union of different cultures, that peace can be found.
One of the characters sums up the desires of The Knights Templar when he states "At first I though we were fighting for God then I realized we were fighting for wealth and land, I became ashamed" (Kingdom).
This line spoken by Tiberias (Jeremy Irons) occurs after the death of thousands of Christians in the desert, at the hands of Muslims. So how does Balian leave the world a better place? He does this by protecting the helpless both Muslim, Jews, and Christians within the city walls of Jerusalem in the final climactic battle scene. Ridley Scott cleverly does not highlight the violence in "Kingdom of Heaven" but uses it as a tool to show that concepts such as truth, equality, love, and innocence are worth defending.
Then there is the theme that in order for a man or woman to be great they must choose each day to do good deeds, rather than evil. Balian's brother (Michael Sheen) is a thief, a liar, a condemner, and a backstabber, all while wearing the robes of a Christian priest. Again and again the priest chooses to do evil to Balian and it is a delight to watch him burn in flames, as if in hell, for repeatedly disgracing Balian's wife as a sinner. Balian had chosen to turn the other cheek until it became necessary to do a little evil for a greater good.
In the desert while contesting the rights of ownership to a horse, Balian states to a Muslim cavalier "I do not wish to fight you" (Kingdom). However, the cavalier initiates the aggression and Balian is forced to fight then kill the cavalier but shows mercy to his unarmed servant and allows him to live.
The theme of choosing good action versus evil action comes up again and again as Balian comes in conflict with those who choose evil. It is interesting to note that Ridley Scott uses the Christian fanatics as the source of evil rather than portraying the Muslims, as the aggressors. This creates a more unbiased portrayal of Muslims unlike other films like "10,000 BC" that show Muslims as overly sinister and one-sided. Throughout "Kingdom of Heaven" The Knights Templar choose to do their evil deeds under the banner of God. Right before an attack on a Muslim caravan a priest rouses the Templars to attack because "God wills it!" (Kingdom).
After multiple viewings the adventure story of "Kingdom of Heaven" gives rise to questions that are relevant to the current events of today. In the end, Balian leaves the holy land with a new spiritual understanding, while wars continue to rage in the middle-east. Whether one should travel thousands of miles to find spiritual enlightenment is left up to the viewer.
Works Cited
Ager, Rob. Collativelearning.com. Ed. Rob Ager. 1 Aug. 2008 http://www.collativelearning.com/
Ebert, Roger. Kingdom of Heaven. Sun Times. 9 Aug. 2008 http://rogerebert.suntimes.com
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Internet Movie Database. 5 Aug. 2008 . http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320661/
Kingdom Of Heaven. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Orlando Bloom. 2005. DVD. 20th Century