film review "Kingdom of Heaven"

watched this film last night on a friends computer that we set up this weekend. Dano, Olga and I sat transfixed for however long it took. film by Ridley Scott written by William Monahan about the transpirations of history in Jerusalem right before Richard the Lionhearted king of England took on the Crusade.

this film does things with the realities of "holiest of holies" - ie. Jerusalem that NO ONE has ever done before. it puts into perspective VERY IMPORTANT issues of this thing we call life with the diametric opposition of Christianity and Islam as its matrix.

a lord comes back to find his long lost bastard son who is a blacksmith. he reveals paternity and invites the young man to Jerusalem where they can assuage their combined and personal problems and get to know each other. the father (Liam Niesen - sp?) imparts to his son that in the present kingdom of Jerusalem a king sits who has bonded Christians, Jews and Muslims into a coherant knit of society with the good of "the people" as his primary duty instead of pandering to one of the diametrically opposed religions (Christianity and Islam). the sons wife has just committed suicide after losing a child and he is totally spun. to make things succinct, he commits a murder and then follows and catches up to his father and they go to Jerusalem.

the father dies of wounds in Jerusalem but passes his title on to son and knights him. from here the story blossoms as the son exhibits his love for humanity and the truth above all other earthly garnishments and allures and will not compromise his values and promises for any reason.

I can't ruin the rest of the plot but the way it unfolds is ASTOUNDING. the point I received from this film is that PEOPLE should always be the focus of any governing body and not A RELIGION OR OTHER STUMBLING BLOCK.

this film shook me to the core of my being and did it with a view into a point in history that has often been overlooked.

at the end of this film, when Richard the Lionhearted makes himself known - the fact that Christianity and Islam were trashing humanity to make their own points and FORTUNES is slammed home. whereas the sons rule of Jerusalem was only for a blink in time, it was for all the right reasons and in all the right ways. his eventual rejection of power and status is also an underlining aspect as well as only getting the woman of his dreams in a way that is honorable and doesn't compromise his life and hers.

it's a cosmic sleeper and a magnificent film as well as a monumental historical piece.