“Troy” (Wolfgang Petersen - 2004) starts reminding us lazy and cosy westerners something we don’t have much time for, how “sweet and seemly” is to die for one’s country, even if it is only to rescue a spoilt beauty like Helen, the “face that launched a thousand ships”. So why not do it for Hussein in Iraq, where there is the added value of real crude oil?

“Alexander” (Oliver Stone - 2004) goes somewhat further, and reminds us Westerners that we have a superior mission to accomplish, some kind of “Babylonia or bust”! OK, to be sure Alexander sometimes seem a bit confused, but there is no doubt him mom Olympias constantly inspires him with powerful telepathy, and also Zeus/Jupiter who seems to have dabbled more than a bit in Alexander’s conception, sends messages with eagles (white necked ones?) galore.

“Kingdom of Heaven” (in Italy just a low-profile “The Crusades” so the Vatican does not file a legal suit for Trade Mark abuse!) tries to strike the balance right with between West and East, yes even with Islam. OK the West seem to have lost its Faith, but what really matters, says the Spiritual-Master-Hospitallier-Monk (David Thewlis) to the (post-modern) unbelieving Balian of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) is that Religion is “about your rite of actions”, more like a free-masonic initiation. True, there lingers a feeling there is “something rotten in the West” (King Baldwin’s leprosy), but there is still hope. And The Crusades are not some kind of dress rehearsal for WWIII, provided Eastern chieftains, and Muslim in particular (Saladin) share our same Chivalry Code. One is left only to wonder if Baldwin and Saladin (the game is open for guesses on present-day counterparts) are meant to be some sort of 33rd Degree Masonic Masters.