In the director's cut version I watched, Ridley Scott's big pattern and deep thinking were vividly displayed in this film.
When it comes to the gorgeous and sensitive topic of Jerusalem, there are people who are pursuing the most simple justice; when the whole world is immersed in the worship of "God", there is someone who is thinking about "people". In this respect, the director and the protagonist in the play are one.
When I try to summarize all of this as humanism, I find that humanism is nothing more than a moderate expression that can bypass today's religious disputes and not offend either side - in today's society, when you're cheering for humanism, whichever it is Believers of the religion will not protest; but when the flag is raised for idealism, the nature changes. A little carelessness in proportions will question and challenge the rules of the world for thousands of years, thus causing controversy. Therefore, it is necessary to change the idealism that challenges the secular to an expression that does not violate its original intention, and cast a gentle veil on it.
The "idealism" here is more inclined to refer to having a sense of thinking about an ideal state.
Questioning thinking requires courage, and the resulting idealism also requires courage. Once you touch the question of sensitive rules, whether it is Balian on the screen or Ridley Scott off-screen, it takes courage.
"If God doesn't understand man, he is not God, and man can have no scruples." Such remarks aimed at a teacher who gave orders under the guise of God's will require courage for Balian, but for Ridley Scott , will be greatly discounted.
Choosing the sensitive location of Jerusalem as the subject naturally requires a lot of courage, but Ridley Scott's courage is far more than that - the film is titled KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and Balian surrenders the city at the end in my opinion. Deep meaning.
The whole film talks about war, but the final choice of the protagonist goes far beyond the small pattern of winning and losing on both sides of the war, which makes people doubt the meaning of the existence of "kingdom".
What is the meaning of "kingdom", or, in other words, what is the meaning of country. People are not the property of any place, let alone the property of any person. Then, who sets the borders, and for whom. The so-called defense of the territory, whose territory is being defended, is for whom defending the territory. Since ancient times, abandoning a city and surrendering will be reviled, but whoever stipulates that surrender is a shame.
The director obviously appreciates the final surrender of Rangcheng's choice, and it also bears witness to this idea.
I think this idea would be shocking once it was said off-screen, and I wonder if Ridley Scott also thought about it. It can be felt that he has doubts about the meaning of "Jerusalem", but it is hard to say. Perhaps it is because of this that he chooses to use this profound philosophical expression: Jerusalem is nothing and everything.
And in my opinion, this is undoubtedly a moderate expression of idealism: this "Jerusalem" refers to more than Jerusalem.
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