White, Blue and Gold: An Analysis of the Religious Ideals in the Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven

Over the years religion has been a prime topic of conversation in  cinema. One of the most common discourses deals with the differences between the Muslim and Christian faiths. These discussions, though prevalent mostly try to maintain a neutral viewpoint when it comes to the moral correctness of either religion. Though these attempts to remain unbiased are admirable I will offer a different solution granted by the themes and motifs present in Ridley Scott's Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven  .

                        At first glance the film seems to be the obvious choice for such an exploration. Though, as the analysis continues one discovers that film has far more to say about religion in cinema than just being a call for religious neutrality. In fact, it is one of Kingdom of Heaven's greatest strength that it remains steadfast on its positions, and does not lose focus on trying to appease different parties at once. Now, that does not mean that one religious ideal is more dominant than the other, but  instead that both ideals are separate from one another.

People may argue that this in fact his balance, I would suggest that Scott clearly separates the Muslim and Christian ideals into their own distinct storylines, which in turn allows both of the belief systems to be explored to a fuller extent. In remaining bias Scott is able to conclude each of the two storylines separately without compromising.

Kingdom of Heaven is a film dominated by the idea of separation, and perhaps one of the most interesting uses of this idea is in the color scheme. The color scheme throughout the film, in a way allows for the idea of  separate storylines. Each religion has its own distinctive colors, gold and black for the Moslems, and red, white and blue for the Christians. Interestingly though, Christianity's three colors do not represent a singular belief system, but instead different variations on the system. Rad, represents the Templars, the perversion of Catholicism, white, the true nature of Catholicism and Christianity and blue the loss of faith. All are expressed through the dominant colors in both the set and costume design.

This color palate dominates the majority of the film. Though there still remains one distinct use of none color. Jerusalem, this location is neither Muslim nor Christian and it is presented as such. The city gravitates more towards neutral colors instead favoring any reds, blues or golds. Jerusalem is a "Kingdom of conscience, a Kingdom of Heaven." As Lord Godfrey states as he lay dying. Therefore, Jerusalem belongs to God .

This neutral color scheme  is present at the film's opening to illustrate this idea even further, as Balian dreams of his dead wife. The dream is awash in natural color, again favoring none of the other dominant tones. The audience is then taken out of the dream by the following line. "Come on this is not Heaven, it is a world and there are troubles in it." This scene indicates that there is a clear separation between the places of God and the places Man.

As Balian is brought out of his reverie in these opening moments the audience is made aware of the fact that the "World" is saturated in a bluish tint. This suggests that  people are not the only ones who  lose their faith, but entire country do as well. In fact, the blue tint does not start to subside until Balian begins his journey to the Holy Land, on which the color is continually deemphasized until the color design comes to rest on the neutral tones of Jerusalem.

In terms of the color scheme Balian is interesting character to examine because he constantly switches his religious affiliation to suit the situation at hand, though these continual switches may be construed as an attempt to create an unbiased character. In the end Balian does indeed determines his religious affiliation; I suggest that this consistent changing allows for a greater understanding of each ideology, not to represent his unbiased nature, but to ultimately allow him to  come to a decision. Again, both the Muslim and Christian faith have their own distinct storylines in the film which are not reliant on one another to succeed.

This idea is brought to the forefront in the film's conclusion as Balian hands over control of Jerusalem to the Muslims. As the dénouement begins Saladin walks through the abandoned city,  which continues to change its allegiances  as he examines the fallen city. One of the most interesting moments in this sequence is when Saladin picks up a fallen cross and puts back in its proper place. Though this action suggests that the Muslims have a reverence for the Catholic faith, it also indicates that the Muslims are indeed victorious in this instance because the cross is made of solid gold.

Religious iconography is a large component of Kingdom of Heaven, giving the color scheme yet other vessels in which to explore the various religious ideals. Ironically though, the only religious symbol present in the film is the cross. Even though this is the case it is used in a variety of ways to express the many religions present. One such usage  comes at the opening of the film. The film begins with a shot of a crossroads completely saturated in a blue tint. In fact, the scene is so saturated that the actual cross component of the crossroads is nothing but a silhouette. This is a further indication that Europe as a whole has no true faith.Though there is still Balian who is seeking his own understanding of religion. In this regard symbols play another important role. In Balian’s residence near Jerusalem there are a series of white skeleton images, above which Balian reads. "As we are so you will be.” Though this phrase speaks of death, it also indicates Balian’s ultimate desire of becoming a true Christian.

 In the film's final scenes the idea of the two separate religious storylines come to fruition, as the Muslims are victorious in Jerusalem and Balian returns home to England with a truer understanding of Christianity. With Balian’s return home, the English landscape sees the disappearance of the blue tint, and more of a reliance on natural pure color. This change suggests that true Christianity is represented by pure natural colors. In emphasis of this the film concludes with a shot of the crossroads. However, the cross is now clearly defined and given its natural colors.  

  Kingdom of Heaven is one of those rare films that does not attempt to be unbiased towards certain faith systems, but instead  attempts to present faith in the  truest possible way. As result the film is strengthened because it not only is able to discuss religion as a component of cinema, but also illustrate how religions can be presented on film without any particular   compromise.