Esther (1999)

Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), King of the Persians, whose empire now extends from India to Egypt after the defeat of the Babylonians, is holding a celebratory banquet for his people in the citadel ... See full summary »

Director:

Raffaele Mertes

Writer:

Sandy Niemand (teleplay)

Stars:

Louise Lombard, F. Murray Abraham, Jürgen Prochnow

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louise Lombard	...	Esther
F. Murray Abraham	...	Mordecai
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Haman
Thomas Kretschmann	...	King Ahasuerus
Ornella Muti	...	Queen Vashti
Frank Baker	...	Ezra
John Hollis	...	Harbona
Umberto Orsini	...	Memucan
Phil Davies	...	Hegai
Natasha Williams	...	Maimuna
Peter Halliday	...	Carshena
Christopher Ettridge	...	Hathach
Darren Bransford	...	Nehemia
Nicola Harrington	...	Mara
Peter Guinness	...	Admatha

Storyline

Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), King of the Persians, whose empire now extends from India to Egypt after the defeat of the Babylonians, is holding a celebratory banquet for his people in the citadel of Susa to display his wealth and splendor. When he summons his attractive wife Vashti, to show off her beauty to the guests, the proud queen refuses to come. The king promptly bans her from ever entering his presence again, and gives orders for the most beautiful young virgins in the land to be brought to him. The young Jewess Esther, adopted daughter of her uncle Mordecai, is among the girls selected; they are told to beautify themselves in the royal harem and prepare to spend the night with the king. Esther succeeds in enchanting the king with her extraordinary beauty and charm, and he makes her his queen. The king promotes his loyal subject Haman - whose family is notably anti-Jewish - to the post of first minister of the kingdom. When the Jew Mordecai fails to kneel down before Haman like all ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | esther character | one word title | jewish | xerxes | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

None of the actors are of Persian or Jewish descent. F. Murray Abraham, who is of Assyrian descent, is the only actor in the film of known Middle Eastern descent.

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Goofs

King Ahasuerus promoted Haman's popularity, after Esther was picked as the Babylonian queen, replacing Vashti, not before. Her Jewish name is Hadassah and Esther is her Babylonian name. Evidence: Holy Bible, Old Testament book, Esther, Chapters 2 and 3.

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Connections

Follows Jeremiah (1998)

User Reviews

Perfect

This movie's directing, editing, dialogue, scenography, acting and music are all 10/10. I really cannot find a fault and I find faults in most movies.

I may not agree with the roles of women in the society or that the proposed solution to the massacre is a massacre, but then again, a movie doesn't have to be feminist or pacifist, but to describe a story, and this is a nice story, though not of our time.

I suspect it may be looked down upon for its being a movie from the Bible and not being a big production. Probably no one expects excellency from it and its merits are not recognized. Its vote may depend more on what is expected such a production to be rated.

Details

Official Sites:

Five Mile River Films

Country:

Italy Germany France Spain USA Czech Republic Netherlands UK

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

5 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Bible: Esther

Filming Locations:

Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lube, Lux Vide, Beta Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1