Ancient History 1
How does the filmmaker want viewers to feel about the medieval world portrayed in their
film? Use specific examples from the film to answer this question.
The filmmaker Ridley Scott in his film the Kingdom of Heavens introduced a historical
drama. This movie is considered as a Crusade epic. The film saw a lot of criticism and mockery
from historians and the critics. The filmmaker portrayed Crusaders in the 12th century and the
filming was done in Morocco. The film actually is a fictional version of the life of Balian of
Ibelin (ca. 1143-93). The aim of the filmmaker here is to highlight the Crusaders in that time
through the character of Balian. He was a blacksmith who travels to Jerusalem, where religious
wars were at peak (Scott, 2005). The movie depicts his transformation into a warrior who comes
forward to defend the people of Jerusalem. The movie portrays a common man’s adventure in
the wars. He became the warrior in a new land for new people. The place and the people, both
were strange for him. The movie further portrays the forbidden love of a common man with a
queen that later becomes a knight. There was a legend that Sibylla liken Baldwin of Ibelin and
this was the idea behind the romantic angle on Sibylla and a member of Ibelin family. He wanted
peace which was a far-fetched thing at the time and protected the people of Jerusalem.
The battle scenes and the landscapes in the movie take the viewers far back into
the 12th century itself. Mainly the film faced religious controversy based on the relationships of

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The Middle Ages and the Modern World: Fact and Fiction

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