|
A blockbuster tackling the gargantuan and symbolism-charged subject of the Crusades simply begs for controversy, according to the accepted standards of Hollywood’s publicity machines. And though Ridley Scott’s new film, Kingdom of Heaven, does stoke the sparks of controversy with its subject matter, it’s not for the reasons you may think.
The film, which opens this Friday, May 6, tackles the turbulent time of the late 12th century, after nearly 200 years of Christian soldiers battling Muslim armies for control of the holy city of Jerusalem. With Scott—who has directed such hits as Black Hawk Down and Alien—at the helm, the film promises to be a box-office hit. However, the road to opening night has been plagued with accusations of historical inaccuracies and negative representations of both Christians and Muslims.
In a broad sweep, the movie zeros in at the time of the Third Crusade, when Christian armies, in trying to expand their base in the Holy Land, come up against the seemingly impenetrable force of the Saracen warriors of Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), a powerful Muslim leader commonly viewed in history as the unifier of the Muslim world of that time.
Against this backdrop is the story of Balian (Orlando Bloom), a despondent working-class bastard son of the knight Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), who reluctantly gets recruited into the war and rises to a top rank to lead the Christian army against Saladin.
Of course, the romanticized Balian is portrayed as an agnostic, to open up discussions on what role religious extremism and material greed played in prolonging the Crusades. Balian hopes to discover God’s purpose for him in the Holy War, only to discover that leaders are not who they seem to be, and all appear to have different reasons for fighting this war.
|
| Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud takes on the role of legendary Muslim leader Saladin. |
And so, with this basic story line, the obvious assumption (given Hollywood’s poor track record in positively portraying Arabs and Muslims) is that the Muslim warriors are probably depicted as boorish, uneducated, and bloodthirsty. For that matter, in the three years it took to get Kingdom of Heaven to the silver screen, Scott consistently dodged questions about comparisons between Islamic-Christian relationships in the 12th and 21st centuries.
But Scott’s armor was pierced when last year, Khaled Abou El Fadl, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, obtained a copy of the shooting script and protested, in his now oft-quoted statement, that, “On the Muslim side, everyone apart from Saladin is portrayed as a mindless machine.”
Yet others argue the opposite. In fact, most critics agree that the Christian soldiers are portrayed more negatively than their Muslim counterparts. And Saladin, a key figure in Islamic history, enjoys a surprisingly even-handed approach, according to a number of film critics.
In fact, Saladin’s historical reputation as a fair-minded leader is supported by the scenes between him and the leper king Baldwin IV (Edward Norton). During his reign, there was a three year truce between the Christian and Muslim armies, which was broken by Baldwin’s successor. Saladin then took Jerusalem, which resulted in the Third Crusade.
Scott argues that there was great respect between Saladin and Baldwin. “Saladin had 200,000 troops in Damascus—roughly the number of Americans sent to fight in Iraq—but he didn’t move against Baldwin. Historians will say ‘rubbish. Saladin was otherwise occupied and the Crusaders were the stuff of border skirmishes.’ But I say mutual respect was part of the equation,” Scott said in an interview published in Baltimore, Maryland’s Sun.
Some Muslim organizations agree with Scott and his portrayal of Saladin and his Muslim warriors. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), after seeing a private screening of the film, said it was a “balanced” portrayal of the Crusades with “no outrageous stereotypical representations of Muslims.”
CAIR-LA communications director Sabiha Khan said in a statement that the film was a “balanced and positive depiction of Islamic culture during the Crusades.” She added that the film will hopefully serve as a call for increased interfaith dialogue. CAIR national communications coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, who also saw the private screening, said the film “managed to show the horrors of war without associating those horrors with a particular faith or culture.”
In fact, Scott said in numerous interviews that one of the film’s main messages is that of tolerance in the face of religious zealousness and material greed. Critics say the film salutes men who struggle to determine their own vision of faith and morality and the tolerance of other religions and cultures.
|
