emptiedinside (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} emptiedinside) wrote,@ 2005-05-06 08:29:00 |
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New Epic Film Challenges Christians' thought process
Val
Guest Writer
Hollywood has seen its share of epic films. Last year, the critics dubbed "Troy," "King Arthur" and "Alexandar" flops. Ridley Scott, director and producer of "Kingdom of Heaven," tried his hand at another historical epic. Expectations for this movie are high because of Scott's previous success with "Gladiator." While Scott may have not matched his past work, his latest evokes questions and challenges the world's status quo.
"Kingdom of Heaven" weaves the story of the Crusades in the lat 12th century. The movie starts out by introducing Balian (Orlando Bloom), a common blacksmith who is mourning the death of his wife and child. After the city preist condemns Balian's wife to hell, Balian kills the priest in frustration and anger.
Shortly thereafter, Balian's life is dramatically changed when he learns that Godfrey (Liam Neeon), the Baron of Ibelin is his father. Wanting to erase his sins, Balian joins Godfrey on his journey to Jerusalem, where an attack on the camp leaves Godrey fatally wounded. Struggling to stand, he knights Balian and entrusts him to protect the king of Jerusalem.
While serving the dying king of Jerusalem with determination and a strong will, Balian is thrust into a huge battle. The battle challenges Balian to save Jerusalem, and he must therefore gather all of his courage to defend the city.
Battle scenes like those in "Kingdom of Heaven" captured the grand-scale combat. The movies uses the right amount of special effects and computer generated images to create a believeable and dramatic world. With his up-close and tight shots, Scott masterfully throws the audience into the middle of the action.
Though the action is captivating, it's hard for the audience to connect with the key figures of the movie because of the lack of character development. Many questioned Bloom's ability to deliver a believable performance. With several epics under his belt, he has no problem with the action sequences, but while Bloom acted effectively in some scenes, his character was unmoving in others.
However, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, the military advisor for the king of Jerusalem, and Edward Norton, who played the King Baldwin of jerusalem, added depth and personality to their roles as two of the strongest cast members.
The big controversy surrounding this film was how Muslims and Christians would be portrayed. Both groups were worried that the movie would depict their religion unfairly. Fortunately, "Kingdom of Heaven" paitned an accurate historical description of the Crusades and the people involved.
Christians who see this film may object to some of the Christian characters, but they must remember that the Crusades are a real part of history. The movie shows some of the Christians to be hypocritical, power hungry and greedy. Though the pill is hard to swallow, christians must understand this is how some of the 12th century religious leaders behaved.
This movie has real implications for modern day Christians, reminding them that actions speak louder than words and that when Christians are hypocritical it causes rifts and pushes people away from Christianity because it isn't a true representation of what Jesus called His followers to be.
In "Kingdom of Heaven," Balian struggles for true answers. He is disillusioned by the fact that some of the Christians care more about rules, regulations and power than caring and protecting the people. "if this is the kingdom of heaven, then let God do with it as he pleases" he said as he observed the murder and carnage during the battle for Jerusalem.
Scott echoed the same ideas. "Balian is an agnostic just like me," Scott told United Kingdom's The Times. "I am not fighting another holy war here; I am trying to get across the fact that not everyone in the West is a good guy, and not all Muslims are bad. The tragedy is that we still have a lack of understanding between us, and it is 900 years since the Crusades. We never truly resolved our differences."
Godfrey of Ibelin hoped for understanding at the end of the Crusades.
"A new world - a better world that has ever been seen," he said. "There you are not what you were born, but what you have in yourself to be. A kingdom of consious, peace instead of war, love instead of hate - that is what lies at the end of the Crusade."
Val
Guest Writer
Hollywood has seen its share of epic films. Last year, the critics dubbed "Troy," "King Arthur" and "Alexandar" flops. Ridley Scott, director and producer of "Kingdom of Heaven," tried his hand at another historical epic. Expectations for this movie are high because of Scott's previous success with "Gladiator." While Scott may have not matched his past work, his latest evokes questions and challenges the world's status quo.
"Kingdom of Heaven" weaves the story of the Crusades in the lat 12th century. The movie starts out by introducing Balian (Orlando Bloom), a common blacksmith who is mourning the death of his wife and child. After the city preist condemns Balian's wife to hell, Balian kills the priest in frustration and anger.
Shortly thereafter, Balian's life is dramatically changed when he learns that Godfrey (Liam Neeon), the Baron of Ibelin is his father. Wanting to erase his sins, Balian joins Godfrey on his journey to Jerusalem, where an attack on the camp leaves Godrey fatally wounded. Struggling to stand, he knights Balian and entrusts him to protect the king of Jerusalem.
While serving the dying king of Jerusalem with determination and a strong will, Balian is thrust into a huge battle. The battle challenges Balian to save Jerusalem, and he must therefore gather all of his courage to defend the city.
Battle scenes like those in "Kingdom of Heaven" captured the grand-scale combat. The movies uses the right amount of special effects and computer generated images to create a believeable and dramatic world. With his up-close and tight shots, Scott masterfully throws the audience into the middle of the action.
Though the action is captivating, it's hard for the audience to connect with the key figures of the movie because of the lack of character development. Many questioned Bloom's ability to deliver a believable performance. With several epics under his belt, he has no problem with the action sequences, but while Bloom acted effectively in some scenes, his character was unmoving in others.
However, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, the military advisor for the king of Jerusalem, and Edward Norton, who played the King Baldwin of jerusalem, added depth and personality to their roles as two of the strongest cast members.
The big controversy surrounding this film was how Muslims and Christians would be portrayed. Both groups were worried that the movie would depict their religion unfairly. Fortunately, "Kingdom of Heaven" paitned an accurate historical description of the Crusades and the people involved.
Christians who see this film may object to some of the Christian characters, but they must remember that the Crusades are a real part of history. The movie shows some of the Christians to be hypocritical, power hungry and greedy. Though the pill is hard to swallow, christians must understand this is how some of the 12th century religious leaders behaved.
This movie has real implications for modern day Christians, reminding them that actions speak louder than words and that when Christians are hypocritical it causes rifts and pushes people away from Christianity because it isn't a true representation of what Jesus called His followers to be.
In "Kingdom of Heaven," Balian struggles for true answers. He is disillusioned by the fact that some of the Christians care more about rules, regulations and power than caring and protecting the people. "if this is the kingdom of heaven, then let God do with it as he pleases" he said as he observed the murder and carnage during the battle for Jerusalem.
Scott echoed the same ideas. "Balian is an agnostic just like me," Scott told United Kingdom's The Times. "I am not fighting another holy war here; I am trying to get across the fact that not everyone in the West is a good guy, and not all Muslims are bad. The tragedy is that we still have a lack of understanding between us, and it is 900 years since the Crusades. We never truly resolved our differences."
Godfrey of Ibelin hoped for understanding at the end of the Crusades.
"A new world - a better world that has ever been seen," he said. "There you are not what you were born, but what you have in yourself to be. A kingdom of consious, peace instead of war, love instead of hate - that is what lies at the end of the Crusade."
