Writing is difficult.  First, you have to formulate your ideas, something in school we call brainstorming.  Then, you have to be sure they're logical and make sense to you and the readers.  Writing an article, especially as a presenter for a TV station with thousands of readers either stumbling absent-mindedly or targetting purposefully on your blog every day to pry on your next thought or points-of-view, can be a very daunting task.  Carefully scrutinized, readers engage in heated debates over an idea or maybe just a minute choice of wording.  Yet, many years of experience have revealed a simple fact:  You can never please everyone.

Since it is impossible to make everyone happy, I'm just going to write.  Thank God I'm only a presenter and not a full-blown writer.  My job on a daily basis is to receive, interpret, and deliver news from around the world.  For instance, a string of goodwill trips by high ranking official and China's miraculous economic boom appear as Chef's choice no doubt.  But often times I am puzzled how little is covered on the thousands of unemployed squatting on the side of the road with cigarette butts in their hands, watching as black CL500 Mercedez wheezes by wondering "Why am I NOT on this money bullet-train of wealth?"?  Then there are Hong Kong election bickering, trivial minibus accidents, and jolly chitchats about how safe it is to reenter the stock market, reliving the good old days when people mouthwash with sharkfin soup.  But what about the other 6 million hardworking Hong Kongers who are NOT benefiting from the island's rapid, glamorous, high exaggerated blown-out-of-proportion economic recovery?  Nope, not much mentioned there either.  Speaking of islands, none can easily forget Taiwan's seemingly failed Democracy and incessant parliamentary kung-fu shows, where crouching legislators and hidden law-makers display high-fly shoe-throwing which never ceases to amaze CNN viewers.  Oh wait!  President Trees-and-Grass!  His headstrong diplomatic policies and coughing up on a pretzel and beer are an unwavering source of mockery for talkshow hosts on all channels.  But of all the news I receive everyday, Middle East has never failed to make headlines.

Now, I'm a Realist.  I am fully aware that my own strength alone is not going to bring about a resolution quelling conflicts in the Middle East, nor am I capable of turning back the minute hand that is inching its way to 12 on the Doomsday Clock.

Unfortunately, I'm also an Idealist so I'm going to try.  I'm going to recommend a movie called "Kingdom of Heaven", which is one of those films I seldom get tired of watching nor ever get bored.  I hope after reading this piece and when viewing this film, you will have a different perspective on love, life, religion, tolerance, and right action, as I have.  I studied each spoken line throughout the film to discover all the messages cleverly hidden by director Ridley Scott.

Let's first talk a little bit about director Ridley Scott, who was born in England and thus understandably his numerous anti-US/globalization sentiments surrounding his films.  One of his earliest creations was sci-fi thriller classic "Alien", which I personally find it on a different level and genre from "Star Wars" and therefore not as appealing.  Then Scott made "Bladerunner" and got me hooked on Sega's "Snatcher" and his jubilee sidekick known as – "Metal Gear."  More recently, Scott cooked up "Gladiaor," which calls upon all men to rise up against unjust, unwise, unacceptable tyrants.  "Blackhawk Down", now there's a classic which relives an one-day event set in the ravaged Somalia capital Mogadishu, a desolated city split apart by warlords and filled with refugees dying of starvation and malnourishment.  The intervening US Delta Force, SEALs, and rangers, who were on an informal aid and assistance mission, found themselves fighting for their lives when not just one but two Blackhawk helicopters were shot down during a routine prisoner retrieval task.  The most significant scene of the film, in my opinion, was when the captured Blackhawk pilot Michael Durant was interrogated by a Somalian militia leader, who accused Durant and his fellow American solders, in turn the government, for meddling in other people's business.  Killings in Africa will continue one warlord after another, and democracy suitable for some may not be suitable for all.  Of course in actuality, the one-day Battle of Mogadishu shifted Clinton's foreign policy 180 degrees and soon after US troops were shipped off the coasts of Somalia.  Ever since "Black Hawk Down", I kept a watchful eye on Ridley's successive work.

Finally, onto "Kingdom of Heaven".  As a child, I've always had this strange fascination with knights, castles, feudalism, and the mystical life of the Middle Age.  Therefore, when the trailer first hit theatres, it grappled my senses and imagination to a point that I vowed to catch "Kingdom of Heaven" on the big screen even if it meant watching it alone, but I still knew little of the film's purpose except there was going to be knights in bloodshed, war horses charging battlefields, siege on a castle, and lots of sand.  Good enough for me!  In the end, I did in fact watch the movie by myself because when it finally reached Hong Kong, I happened to embark on my annual 2-week trip back to the US, which already took down the film by then but too early to hit the shelves as DVD.  Instead of the giant screen with dolby surround sound, I unwillingly settled with the tiny 5-inch seat screen cranked in economy class on Cathy Pacific, but the film did not let me down.  Not one bit.

The story was about Godfrey Baron of Ibelin, played by the ever talented Liam Neeson, returned home to England in search of his son Balian, played by Elf-turned-blacksmith Orlando Bloom.  Balian arrived in Jerusalem to find himself caught in-between a political struggle in the Empire of Jerusalem, and he was forced to defend the city against desert nomads Saracens and their Islamic leader/politician/statesman Saladin.  Couple lines in the film especially caught my attention:

1. "What man is a man who does not make the world better?"
   大丈夫,當造福蒼生
2. "To kill an infidel is not murder.  It is the path to heaven."
   殺異教徒,不是謀殺,是上天堂之道.
3. "Praise be to God.  It is proper to praise him."
   讚美神,齊來讚美神
   "Sounds like our prayers."
   像我們的祈禱
4. "How can you be in hell when you are in my heart?"
   妳活在我心中,怎會在地獄裏?
5. "I put no stock in religion.  By the word religion, I've seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will of God.  Holiness is in right action and courage on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves.  And goodness- what God desires- is here (pointing at Balian's head) and here (pointing at Balian's heart).  By what you decide to do everyday, you will be a good man... or not."
   我對宗教沒有信心.我見盡所謂教徒假借[神意],胡作非為,聖者俠也,挺身而出,見義勇為,鋤強扶弱.神者,仁也,在乎一念之間,一心之間,君子小人之分在於平素,一言一行.
6. "You see, none of us choose our end, really.  A king may move a man.  A father may claim a son.  But remember that, even when those who move you be kings or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone.  When you stand before God, you cannot say, 'But I was told by others to do thus,' or that virtue 'was not convenient at the time.'  This will not suffice.  Remember that."
   所以,人的命運由不得自己.君令,或不可違.父命,或不可逆.可是記住: 即使處於王權之下,覇者之前,人,不可不問一己良知.你面對神,不可推說當時是逼於無奈,不可推說當時是權宜之計.推卸不得,切記.
7. "God wills it!  GOD WILLS IT!"
   神的指意!神的指意!
8. "Now this assembly of barons and all of Jerusalem is complete.  There are those among you who may disagree with our succession, but it is war.  And I am the king."
   耶路撒冷的王侯將士,聽著....  你們當中或有人不同意我繼位...  不過大戰逼在眉睫.而我是耶路撒冷王.
9. "It has fallen to us to defend Jerusalem and we have made our preparations as well as they can be made.  None of us took this city from Muslims.  No Muslim of the great army now coming against us was born when this city 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 lie over the Jewish temple that the Romans pulled down.  The Muslim places of worship lie over yours.  Which is more holy?  The wall?  The Mosque?  The sepulcher?  Who has claim?  No one has claim.  All have claim...  We defend this city not to protect these stones but the people living within these walls."
   城池存亡,皮夫有責.我們竭盡所能,作好準備.本城上一次的爭奪戰是我們上一代的恩怨,現正殺過來的回教大軍當時還未出世.我們被逼作戰,我們沒有奪城,只有守城.當年受失城之辱的敵人,早已作古.耶路撒冷是什麼?你們的聖地座落於遭羅馬人拆除的猶太廟上,回教聖地,又座落於你們聖地上.何者更神聖?西牆?金頂寺,銀頂寺?聖墓?誰有權?誰都無權.誰都有權!...  我們守城,不是為了保護石頭...  是爲了保護城內百姓.
10. "Convert to Islam.  Repent later." 
    假意改信回教,將來才悔過.
    "You've taught me a lot about religion, Your Eminence."(This one is a classic).
    妳教曉我很多宗教的道理.
11. "What is Jerusalem worth?"
    耶路撒冷有何價值?
    "Nothing."
    無價值.
    "Everything."
    無盡價值
12. "I have surrendered Jerusalem.  All will be safely escorted to the sea.  If this is the kingdom of Heaven, let God do with it as He wills."
    我已經交出耶路撒冷.所有人會安全出海.這既然是天國... 任神發落好了.
13. "We come by this road to find Balian, who was defender of Jerusalem."
    我們轉程途經這處,找耶路撒冷捍衛者巴利安.
    "I am the blacksmith."
    我是鐵匠.
    "And I am the king of England."
    我是英王.
    "I'm the blacksmith."
    我是鐵匠.
14. The King, Richard the Lionheart, went on to the Holy Land and crusaded for three years.
    獅心王李察東征三年.
    His struggle to regain Jerusalem ended in an uneasy truce with Saladin.
    收復耶路撒冷不果,惟與撒拉丁暫訂合約,無功而還.
    Nearly a thousand years later, peace in the Kingdom of Heaven remains elusive.
    近千年之後,天國的太平歲月尚遙不可期.

Those are just some of the lines from this movie that truly moved and inspired me to ponder some tough questions.  Aside from its awesome plot and remarkable dialogues, "Kingdom of Heaven" also showcased some of the best music composed that was later used widely in CCTV's 大國崛起.  Hope they bought the copyrights.

The most powerful scene was towards the end when Saladin carefully picks up the dropped cross from the floor and gently places it back onto the table.

Christianity has been part of my life since birth, and my devotion to it has not changed by this film.  Neither am I naïve enough to think that a single movie is going to alter the world.  But, wishful thinking is allowed:  With tolerance and right action, living in peace may yet be possible.