Editing Gates to Paradise

{{Short description|1968 British film by Andrzej Wajda}}
{{distinguish|Gates of Paradise}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Gates to Paradise
| image          = 
| caption        = 
| director       = [[Andrzej Wajda]]
| producer       = [[Sam Waynberg]]
| writer         = [[Jerzy Andrzejewski]]<br />[[Donald Howarth]]
| narrator       = 
| starring       = [[John Fordyce (actor)|John Fordyce]]<br />[[Lionel Stander]]<br />[[Mathieu Carrière]]<br />[[Pauline Challoner]]<br />[[Ferdy Mayne]]
| music          = [[Ward Swingle]]
| cinematography = [[Mieczyslaw Jahoda]]
| editing        = 
| studio         = [[Avala Film]]
| distributor    = 
| released       = {{Film date|1968}}
| runtime        = UK: 89 min / DE: 77 min
| country        = United Kingdom<br>Yugoslavia

| budget         = 
}}
'''''Gates to Paradise''''' (also known as '''''Vrata Raja''''') is a 1968 film by Polish director [[Andrzej Wajda]] and starring [[Lionel Stander]], [[Ferdy Mayne]] and [[Mathieu Carrière]].<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=Gates to Paradise |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150042307 |access-date=12 August 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref> The film is set in [[medieval]] France and is based on the 1960 [[The Gates of Paradise (novel)|novel]] by Polish writer [[Jerzy Andrzejewski]] that seeks to expose the motives behind youthful religious zeal. It was entered into the [[18th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="imdb">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062461/awards |title=Awards for Gates to Paradise |accessdate=2 March 2010 |publisher=IMDb}}</ref>

==Plot==
In 1212, a [[Children's Crusade]] is launched after Jakob claims to have had a vision in which it is said that the innocence of children would be able to liberate Jerusalem. A monk, returning from Jerusalem, joins the crusade and hears the children's confessions, gradually realizing that most of them are taking part not for religious, but for more worldly reasons, like rejected love.<ref name="San Diego Reader">{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/big-screen/2012/nov/27/lost-gems-of-the-60s-gates-of-paradise-1968 |title=Lost Gems of the '60s: 13th Century Hormones and Rejected Love}}</ref>

Both Alexander and Bianca are in love with Jakob. Alexander, who has learned that his adoptive father (and his lover), Count Ludwig, also a crusader, had killed Alexander's Greek parents, is gleeful that Jakob is in love with the count, whom he had met after the count and Alexander had split after an argument. This allows Alexander to take revenge for the count's infidelity by telling his beloved Jakob about the count's recent demise by drowning in a river, watched by an unmoved Alexander.

Finally, it is revealed in Jakob's confession that Jakob received the inspiration for the crusade not from God but from the Count, which means that the crusade must fail because it is not by the will of God. However, the monk is unable to stop the children's progression and is left behind.

==Cast==
* [[Lionel Stander]] as Monk
* [[Ferdy Mayne]] as Count Ludovic de Vendôme
* [[Mathieu Carrière]] as Alexis Melissen
* [[Pauline Challoner]] as Blanche
* [[John Fordyce (actor)|John Fordyce]] as Jacques de Cloyes
* [[Jenny Agutter]] as Maud de Cloyes
* [[Dragomir Felba]] as Crusader 1
* [[Denis Gilmore]] as Robert (as Dennis Gilmore)
* [[Gojko Kovačević]] as Crusader 2
* [[Ljabomir Radavic]] as Crusader 3
* [[Kynaston Reeves]] as Superior
* [[Janez Vrhovec]] as François

==See also==
*[[List of historical drama films]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0062461|title=Gates to Paradise}}

{{Andrzej Wajda}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates To Paradise (Film)}}
[[Category:1968 drama films]]
[[Category:1968 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:British drama films]]
[[Category:British LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:English-language Polish films]]
[[Category:English-language Yugoslav films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Andrzej Wajda]]
[[Category:Polish drama films]]
[[Category:Polish LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Yugoslav LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Films set in the 13th century]]
[[Category:Films set in France]]
[[Category:Crusades films]]
[[Category:Media about the Children's Crusade]]
[[Category:Films based on Polish novels]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]