monoceros blogsLin Kiat and I went to watch Kingdom of Heaven the day he arrived in Ann Arbor. First blockbuster of the summer, and a Ridley Scott film.
By the end of the film, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Neutral, I suppose. I was rooting for both Christians and Muslims to win and both to lose. For all the stunning battle scenes, the film seemd like it bore an anti-war message. Both kings wanted to avoid war, and for good reason. If anything, the film made me think about the desires, often cruel and selfish, of man; and power that often falls into the wrong hands. All very sad.
The saddest part was when King Baldwin, played by the brilliant Edward Norton, died. Baldwin is a leper and hid the effects behind gloves and silver masks. Beneath his deteriorating body is a gentle, soft-spoken soul though. Wise, noble, quite magnificent. When he died, I lamented the loss of his presence in the story. More Baldwin. I could have done with less Balian, frankly. Baldwin left more of an impression on me than Balian. Even with a mask, Norton really made the role true to life. The piece of music that played during the king's funeral - "Vide Cor Meum," which is actually from the movie, Hannibal. And though the score for that movie is composed by Hans Zimmer, "Vide Cor Muem" is actually written by Patrick Cassidy.
Great costumes, authentic and detailed sets (I want the set designer for King Baldwin's study to do mine!). But the film seemed poorly edited. I guess I'll wait for the director's cut on DVD. It's rumored to be an hour longer than the theater version.
Posted by Monoceros at May 7, 2005 9:16 PMwell, i tot it was a good movie for ppl who had religious prejudices... but then again, they might not have gotten the message.. and waged war on other religions based on the movie...
but on me, it was wasted... darn.
Posted by: airhole at May 31, 2005 11:43 AMwait for the director's cut and then see if the movie's still wasted. I think it was edited very badly.
Posted by: monoceros at June 1, 2005 3:32 AM