Kingdom of Heaven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kingdom of Heaven - Essay Example For example, if a film is set in the time of Christ, the people need to be following the customs of the Roman Empire along with wearing the correct robes. They should not be in a three piece suit and penny loafers, unless the movie has to deal with a man out of time. The third responsibility of the filmmaker is to not keep the locations to their accurate size so that the viewer seems as though they were there. The historical piece that will be used to determine the three responsibilities is Ridley Scott’s 12th Century epic, Kingdom of Heaven. Kingdom of Heaven is a film set during the Crusades about a French blacksmith named Balian, who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. A fabled knight, Godfrey of Ibelin, has briefly returned home after serving in thr East. Godfrey approaches Balian and let’s the blacksmith know that he himself is the blacksmith’s true father. Godfrey, then, asks Balian to join him and his troops in thei r journey to return to the Holy City of Jerusalem to help in the city’s defense. The blacksmith accepts the offer of Godfrey. Their arrival falls in between the Second and Third Crusades when Jerusalem is enjoying a period of peace between the Muslims and the Christians. This peace was all thanks to the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV, his second-in-command Tiberius, and the Muslim potentate Saladin. Unfortunately, the peace does last since violent agitators set out to increase their power. Saladin had to bow down to the pressure Godfey and his men stayed o give their allegiance to the king and his community of diversity. The knights, as well as Balian, use their skills as warriors to build a lasting peace. Orlando Bloom (Balian) is one of the main stars of the film along with Liam Neeson (Godfrey), Edward Norton (Baldwin IV), and Jeremy Iron (Tiberias). In Kingdom of Heaven, I noticed that the overall peace between the Muslims and Christians seemed to show the lack of reli giousness. Rather, the situational tension amongst the Christians and the Muslims seem to be more like a backdrop, than a major part of the story. The story is set between the Second and Third Crusades. However, the action and fighting as warriors is more prevalent than the religious aspects of the Crusade that should be more available. King Baldwin IV was a monarch who wanted to convey peace and diversity amongst the religious factions that want to control the Holy City of Jerusalem. Thus, the filmmaker seemed to use the facts of the time period as more of a symbol for the setting, than as the setting itself. The fighting may have been more gruesome for a film that should be more focused upon Baldwin’s Kingdom of Heaven, then the relationships of a lone person. The relationships should be more about the groups trying to vie for power in Jerusalem, than that of a single man. This story portrays single man being effective in the war to maintain the peace and diversity througho ut the city of Jerusalem during the reign of Baldwin IV. However, the portrayal should be how Baldwin could bring about the change in the ancient fight of the Muslims and the Christians, not how a French blacksmith becomes a knight to help defend the ancient, Holy City from the agitators that wish to overthrow Baldwin IV and claim power for themselves. I feel the overall responsibility of keeping the accuracy of the facts was a little massacred instead of being kept intact by the screenwriters or even portrayed effectively by