weltschmerz

I saw Kingdom Of Heaven (IMDb) at the cinema today. It was surprisingly enjoyable; I'd been expecting the 2.5 hours to drag on a little, but that was not the case. The fight scenes were reminiscent of those in LotR (which also featured Orlando Bloom), particularly the battle of Helm's Deep, and Gladiator (which Ridley Scott also directed).

The film has attracted predictable criticism for depicting the not-so-heavenly actions of some Crusaders, while painting the likes of Saladin in a more positive light. Scott was surely in a no-win situation here though, and overall, I think the film was pretty balanced and non-judgmental. If you care to check on the historical accuracy, which turns out to be quite good, see Wikipedia. The FT has a really excellent comment on – as opposed to a review of – the film.

Time will tell whether it wins any major awards. I'd certainly recommend seeing it; writing as someone who dropped history relatively early on in his school career, the film inspired me to learn more about events that occurred a millennium ago, but which still bear huge relevance today (unfortunately, perhaps).

P.S. In case you didn't know, the quote in the title is by the incomparable Mark Twain.