kingdom of heaven
I saw Kingdom of heaven today, with orlando bloom. I really really liked it. It felt like chaucer come to life. But so much better because the dialougue and scenes were so much more immediate and realistic. I acutally felt like thats what the crusades must have been like. Dirty and dangerous but full of fervour and hope and confusion and epicness. And it was honestly the first movie ive seen where the muslim customs and religious rituals were actually vaguely close to being realistic. I've seen some reviews mocking orlando bloom for how he says asalaam alaykum (sp?) the traditional muslim greeting to other muslims, which means peace be upon you (i think) Ive heard it and said it all my life and i think bloom said it perfectly.
The weakest aspect for me was the love interest. I didnt find much about her very compelling. I was more interested in seeing balian navigate in the holy land. I dont know if that was due to the writing or the acting, but the romantic aspect of the story left me unmoved.
Overall, i loved it. it left me with this urgent need to suddenly explore the history of the crusades, and ancient middle eastern history.
The weakest aspect for me was the love interest. I didnt find much about her very compelling. I was more interested in seeing balian navigate in the holy land. I dont know if that was due to the writing or the acting, but the romantic aspect of the story left me unmoved.
Overall, i loved it. it left me with this urgent need to suddenly explore the history of the crusades, and ancient middle eastern history.