Coolmoviezone!

Kingdom of Heaven

Introduction:

In a remote village in France, Balian, a blacksmith, is haunted by his wife’s recent suicide, following the stillbirth of their child. A group of Crusaders arrive at the small village and one of them approaches Balian, introducing himself as his out-of-wedlock father, Baron Godfrey of Ibelin. Godfrey, having learned of Balian’s recent losses, attempts to persuade Balian to join him as they travel to Jerusalem, in the hope he will eventually take his place as Godfrey’s heir. Balian quickly refuses, and, after resupplying and resting, the Crusaders ride on. Shortly afterwards, the corrupt town priest (Balian’s half-brother) reveals that his wife’s body was beheaded before burial (a customary practice in those times for people who committed suicide, to ensure the soul cannot enter heaven) and he has taken the crucifix she wore. Enraged at these insults, Balian slays the priest with the sword he is working on and takes the crucifix necklace his dead wife once wore. Balian quickly decides to follow his father after all, in the hope of gaining redemption and forgiveness for both his wife and himself. Shortly after he catches up to his father, soldiers led by Godfrey’s nephew arrive, ostensibly to arrest Balian (The actual reason being the assasination of both Balian and Godfrey under the appearance of a bandit attack, so the nephew would inherit Godfrey’s lands around Jerusalem). Godfrey refuses to hand him over and, though they win the ensuing fight, most of Godfrey’s band are killed. Godfrey himself is wounded by an arrow and, though he is not killed outright, it becomes clear as their journey continues that he will soon die.