The Kingdom of Heaven Page #22

TIBERIAS:

First I thought I fought for God.

Then I realized I fought for money

and land.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

110.

CONTINUED:

TIBERIAS (CONT'D)

And then I was ashamed and the King

came to me and said: let us try a

better world. A better world has

been tried and is now impossible.

BALIAN:

Tiberias!

TIBERIAS looks at him as if for a moment he does not

recognize him.

TIBERIAS:

There is no more “Jerusalem”. I go

to Cyprus. Will you come.

BALIAN:

No.

TIBERIAS:

Saladin must move his army from

water to water. You have four days.

Perhaps five. God be with you. You

are the son of your father. Be

without fear. God does love you. He

has finished with me.

BALIAN takes his hand. TIBERIAS rides off. After him, with

looks of apology at BALIAN, so do, one by one, all the men.

Balian sits his horse alone.

EXT. THE DESERT. DAY

BALIAN is riding back, hard, to Jerusalem. Out of the low

ground before him come--twenty MUSLIM RIDERS, all in white,

as if in death-shrouds.

BALIAN turns his horse to the right (nearly putting the

animal down), and sees: MORE WHITE RIDERS. Within an instant

he is surrounded:

SALADIN’S GUARD. BALIAN does not bother drawing a weapon. He

looks for a breakout as the circle closes...but then he sees:

SALADIN. SALADIN rides forward, holding up his palm. The men

look at each other. Horses circling. SALADIN is veiled,

unreadable.

SALADIN:

I knew your father.

(a beat)

He nearly killed me in Lebanon. On

a great horse he crashed through my

guard, and scattered them.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

111.

CONTINUED:

SALADIN (CONT'D)

He was not five paces from me when

an arrow struck through the eye of

his horse. I knew his face...and

his quality. We called him ibn

Barzin. I did not know he had a

son.

BALIAN:

He did. He does.

WHITE RIDERS come closer. SALADIN disarms BALIAN, taking

Godfrey’s sword.

SALADIN:

If you promise to fight no more

against the Muslims, you may go.

BALIAN:

If you march on Jerusalem I cannot

promise.

SALADIN:

I do march on Jerusalem. I will

take it as it was taken, in blood.

Commoners, court and Queen will

die. Every soul.

BALIAN:

Then I cannot promise not to fight

you.

SALADIN:

Your choice is death, or that

promise.

BALIAN:

I cannot promise.

SALADIN:

Then your sentence is death.

BALIAN waits for it. Instead of death his is given: GODFREY’S

SWORD. Politely.

SALADIN (CONT’D)

Every man dies.

(he mounts)

I will take Jerusalem. I cannot do

otherwise. Understand.

BALIAN:

I must defend.

(CONTINUED)

112.

CONTINUED:
(2)

SALADIN nods, and canters away, his guard galloping after,

leaving Balian in the dust.

EXT. THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM. DAY

MANGONELS are being hoisted to the towers by Papal troops. A

GATE is being blocked up by Masons, etc. MONTAGE of SIEGE

PREPARATIONS, supervised by Balian.

EXT. JERUSALEM. A SQUARE. TWILIGHT

CATTLE and FOOD are coming into the town. BALIAN, in a fury,

is checking his organized defences. ARMS are being

distributed to a crowd.

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

We must quit the city.

BALIAN:

And be massacred on the open road?

Saladin’s cavalry is between us and

the sea.

PATRIARCH:

I do not mean the people. I mean

us.

BALIAN moves on.

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

(dancing after Balian)

We have not enough knights.

BALIAN:

(furious)

Truly?

BALIAN turns to a PEASANT BOY, perhaps of 16.

BALIAN (CONT’D)

What is your condition?

BOY:

I am servant to the Patriarch.

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

You are a slave. That is my slave!

BALIAN:

Is he.

BALIAN jumps up on the steps of the Holy Sepulcher.

(CONTINUED)

113.

CONTINUED:

BALIAN (CONT’D)

You know who I am.

(the crowd goes silent)

None of us took this city from

Muslims. No Muslim of the great

army now coming against us was

alive when it was lost. We fight

over an offense we did not give,

against those who were not alive to

be offended. What is Jerusalem?

Your holy places overlay the Jewish

temple which the Romans pulled

down. The Muslim places overlay

yours. Which is more holy? The

wall? The mosque? This sepulcher?

Who has claim? NO ONE has claim...

All have claim.

PATRIARCH:

Blasphemy.

BALIAN:

We defend the city not to defend

these stones, which are either

meaningless or have too many

meanings, but the people living in

these walls who will die unless we

do not defend them. Unless we kill

the army coming against us every

person in Jerusalem will die. Say

that God is with you if you want,

but I will trust in each of you.

Trust in me. I swear not to God but

to each of you that with your help

I will kill Saladin’s army in front

of these walls.

No cheering. He jumps down. To the BOY, holding him.

BALIAN (CONT’D)

You are a slave?

(the BOY nods)

Kneel.

The BOY kneels. The PATRIARCH is aghast.

BALIAN (CONT’D)

Every man of arms or capable of

bearing them, kneel.

The CROWD kneels, BOYS, SERGEANTS, MERCHANTS, OLD PEASANTS.

(CONTINUED)

114.

CONTINUED:
(2)

BALIAN (CONT’D)

Be without fear in the face of your

enemies. Be brave and upright, that

God may love thee. Speak the truth

even if it leads to your death.

Safeguard the helpless. That is

your oath.

The BOY can’t believe is. BALIAN hits him.

BALIAN (CONT’D)

(to the BOY alone)

And that’s so you remember it.

BALIAN goes to raise the next guy. The Man’s face raises, and

we see:

THE GRAVEDIGGER, now battle-scarred, rich. Balian smiles.

BALIAN (CONT’D)

Rise a knight.

GRAVEDIGGER:

Master Blacksmith.

BALIAN:

Master Gravedigger. You have come

to the right place.

He moves on out of the murmuring (and emboldened) crowd. The

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM staring after him.

PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

(nearly crying)

Does making a man a knight make him

a fight better?

BALIAN is surprised by the question.

BALIAN:

(very simply)

Yes.

SIBYLLA has seen it all.

EXT. JERUSALEM. DAWN

Tents are everywhere on the hills. The SARACEN ARMY is

surrounding the city--at prayer. Hundreds of thousands of men

bow and vocalize in unison. ENGINES are in place. Their crews

praying.

(CONTINUED)

115.

CONTINUED:

Jerusalem’s ARCHES AND SPEARMEN stare out from the walls at

the enormous enemy.

BALIAN stands on the walls, at a tower. He looks to his side

and sees:

SIBYLLA. They stand together, windblown, looking out at their

deaths.

The prayer still continues. Allahu akhbar. Thousands bowing

as one.

SIBYLLA:

Forgive me.

BALIAN:

I do.

SIBYLLA:

Save the people from what I have

done.

BALIAN:

I will.

SIBYLLA kisses him. BALIAN looks at her heartbroken.

BALIAN (CONT’D)

You had better go.

SIBYLLA:

If you wanted the world more, I

would love you less.

Sibylla moves along the wall. BALIAN looks chaotically out at

the MUSLIM army. As prayer stops...A solitary figure becomes

distinct on a hill: SALADIN. He raises his palm. BALIAN, on

the wall, does the same.

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