The meaning of it all

I must now see this movie for myself:

-----Original Message-----

Two of my favorite scenes in any recent movie comes from "Kingdom of Heaven" (Director's Cut), in which Orlando Bloom (as the knight defending Jerusalem) and the older English actor playing the patriarch of Jerusalem look out over the plains and see the enormous army of Salah-ud-Din preparing to assault the city. The knight (who was NOT a religious firebrand) starts making practical decisions for the defense of the city (as he did in reality); the patriarch counsels that the defenders should convert to Islam to save themselves, and then convert back later on the grounds that the conversion to Islam was done under duress and therefore invalid. Orlando Bloom's character looks at the patriarch, says "You have taught me much about religion," and then proceeds to continue planning the defense of the city. Simple, and priceless.

Toward the end of the movie, after the Crusaders surrender to Salah-ud-Din on the promise that the inhabitants would be spared (which they were), Orlando Bloom's character asks Salah-ud-Din, "What is it about this city that drives men crazy? What does Jerusalem mean?" Salah-ud-Din's character (an incredibly authentic Arab actor) smiles, looks at the ruined walls, and says "Nothing." He walks away, turns around, smiles again, crosses his arms. "And everything."

To me, that captures the lunacy of it all very well.