The Sultan and the Saint
2016
Action / Documentary / History / War
The Sultan and the Saint
2016
Action / Documentary / History / War
80%
AUDIENCE
6.7/10
187
Plot summary
Two men of faith, one a traveling Christian preacher, the other the ruler of a Muslim Empire, bucked a century of war, distrust, and insidious propaganda in a search for mutual respect and common ground. It is the story of Francis of Assisi and the Sultan of Egypt, and their meeting on a bloody battlefield during the period of Christian- Muslim conflict known as the Crusades.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
I really like this film. PBS aired it
Interesting documentary based on an unlikely event
The Sultan and the Saint (2016) was written and directed by Alexander Kronemer.
It's a historical documentary about a real event--the meeting between Egyptian Sultan Al-Kamil (Zack Beyer) and St. Francis of Assisi (Alexander McPherson.) Jeremy Irons narrates the film.
The basic historical fact--that the two men met in 1219--is not contested. Of course, the movie fills in most of the other information about the Sultan and St. Francis. Also, there's background information about the crusades, with historical re-enactments of battles and the pillage that followed.
This is an amazing story, but it's told in a somewhat plodding way. Given the amazing fact that this meeting actually took place, I think a better director could have given more life to the events.
The Sultan and the Saint has an anemic IMDb rating of 6.7. I thought that it wasn't great, but it was better than that, and rated it 8.