Soldier of God

This film was compared to Kingdom of Heaven. Wow. Ridley Scotts crusade movie cost tens of millions to make. Even so, it is arguably one of Scotts worst films and contains very bad production flaws for a Scott film. On top of this, the story told in Kingdom is an absolute perversion of history and gives a moronic portrayal of the Knights Templar. This movie, Soldier of God, appears to have had no budget. The story seems to be limited by this fact. That said, I will judge it on its own merits. - The filming is beautiful work. Obviously done with a low end camera, yet masterfully shot. - The editing is extremely well done. Some of the best editing I have seen for a film in this budget range. Can't say enough here. - Costumes looks great. A better job was done on costumes than many big budget movies. - Accents are very good and give authenticity. - Although the story is sparse, plot subtle, it is a much more believable and authentic film than Kingdom of Heaven in the portrayal of the people and the period.

Not an action packed fun movie. An interesting watch. Requires an appreciation for film making and not simply a desire to be quickly amused.

The characters from this movie are far a way from any culture (Christianity, Islam,...)

A muslin woman living alone in the desert...with two man...some time she rise the voice and both man calm down.... Do you really know how was the condition of woman in that age ..in Islam ?

Someone say: "I highly recommend this movie to all students of medieval history, and those interested in comparative religious studies." D. Chaltry, Florida.

Ha Ha Ha...

Mr. Mir Bahmanyar and Kathryn Kuhlen.....please...read at least one book before to write a movie.

Before watching this film, leave behind any references to The Kingdom Heaven. This is an extremely low budget film shot somewhere in the desert (certainly not the judean desert) and with no sets to speak of. The film gives the impression it's going to lead you to some profound revelation at some point. This never happens and by the end I was left feeling cheated that I struggled through Rene's (The Templar) rare, mumbled, accented dialogue for nothing. I will never cease to be amazed at how easily some film goers are pleased. The reviews that paint this as some sort of beautiful, well acted, historical treat are myopic in my opinion and I am being kind. This was an awkward, pointless film, with a pointless story.

After the Battle of Hattin in 1187, a grim Knight Templar named Rene (Tim Abell) wanders the desert where he encounters a Muslim named Hassan (Bill Mendieta). They meet a Muslim woman, Soheila (Mapi Galán), and discuss sectarian differences and the human penchant for conflict & killing while the woman seems intrigued by one of the men.

This is basically a low-budget companion piece to the events of "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005). "Soldier of God" came out later that same year, but only cost $325 thousand while "Kingdom" cost a whopping $130 million. Thankfully, the filmmaking doesn't seem THAT low-budget: There's a lot of beautiful desert photography, the editing is proficient and the score is aesthetic and moving. I encourage you to watch or re-watch "Kingdom of Heaven" first because it provides the background events and key names that will help you understand the situation here.

This is a dialogue-driven sword & sandal drama with flashes of action. The acting is well done for such low-budget fare. The problem is that too much of the verbiage is hard to discern and there's no subtitle option. Another reviewer called the movie "a pointless exercise in verbose pretentiousness," but some of the dialogue is quite good, at least what I heard anyway, particularly the discussion when the Jewish merchant visits.

Someone criticized the actions of a certain character on the grounds that a such-and-such wouldn't do such-and-such. I disagree. I just went to coffee with a devotee of a certain noble belief system who recently got out of prison for murder, which he committed in a flash of angry frustration. Plus you have to consider the adrenaline rush of battle frenzy and the desire to remove something lingering & troubling.

I probably would've liked this flick a lot more if I was able to discern more than 50% of the dialogue.

The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in Dumont Dunes, California, with some exteriors done in Málaga, Andalucía, Spain.

GRADE: C

It's well acted that's for sure. Not bad to watch at all.

It doesn't compare to Kingdom of Heaven in the shear scale of modern film making, but it's an interesting critique on the madness of absolute belief some warriors may have lived by, at the time of the crusades. I noticed a previous comment mentioned that a member of the crusading knights would not have acted in the way depicted in the film - I wonder how you would know that of every knight. It's an interesting take on the ambiguities that could beset devote individuals of any faith.

I doubt we have come that far since the time depicted in the film, but I'm sure it will all turn out all right in the end.

Oh dear...