For those unfamiliar with history, the Knights Templar is a Christian military order that gained fame (and notoriety) during the Crusades. All members of the order take take vows of poverty, chastity, piety, and obedience. The knights of the order are practically warriors priests. In fact, they’re the elite troops among the crusaders.
The intrinsic conflict of this war-peace dichotomy in René is the primary focus of Soldier of God. Those who are looking for hack-and-slash action will have to look elsewhere. Like in Kingdom of Heaven. This movie is to Kingdom of Heaven what The Thin Red Line is to Saving Private Ryan: it focuses more on people rather than on events.
René, eventually escaped his captors and wandered about in the desert. He stumbled upon Hassan, a member of the Ismaili sect, a Hashashin (another interesting historical subject) who helped him and gave him water. René in turn later helped Hassan, first by chasing off an attacker and then by helping the wounded Hasan walk.
Together they travelled until eventually they stumbled upon the tent of Soheila, a widow who lived in the desert. As René and Hassan rested and recovered from their wounds under Soheila’s care, René’s inner conflict boils over into their relationship, religion, and culminates in tragedy and self-discovery.
Soldier of God not something that will appeal to a mainstream audience. Instead, it is more for film buffs and, to an extent, history buffs. Though it’s not one of the best films around, if you’re in those two categories, watching it can be a rewarding experience.