Ester
Directed by:
Raffaele MertesCinematography:
Giovanni GalassoCast:
Louise Lombard, F. Murray Abraham, Jürgen Prochnow, Thomas Kretschmann, Ornella Muti, Umberto Orsini, Karl Geary, Marco Bonini, Renato Scarpa (more)Plots(1)
Made-for-television dramatisation of the Bible story. Esther (Louise Lombard) is a young Jewish girl summoned to join the court of the Persian king (Thomas Kretschmann), along with several other young women, after he is insulted by his wife. Her captivating beauty seduces him into making her his new queen, although this antagonises the king's loyal supporter Haman (Jürgen Prochnow), who despises the Jews. When Esther learns that Haman has secretly arranged a plot to kill all of the Jews in the Persian Empire, she reveals herself as Jewish to the King, an act which is not without risk. Fortunately the King is sympathetic and pardons the Jewish people, at the same time arranging for Haman to be executed. With the Jewish people now officially free, many begin the long journey back to the Holy Land where they begin rebuilding Jerusalem. (Time Life Video)
(more)Reviews (1)
I liked the series quite a bit on Hallmark (mostly because of Samson and Delilah), but I only saw this particular episode recently. I purposely wanted to see it because of Louise Lombard, the excellent Evie Eliott from the excellent BBC series The House of Eliott. It was one of the few big roles she did before joining the American CSI series, and I really liked her in it. She still possessed the glamor that she wrapped around every man in 1920s London, and I just can't accept that she turned into a regular skinny blonde shortly thereafter. :( The story of the pleasant, didactic, and unproblematic The Bible: Esther is told at a favorably soothing pace, and it is really only thanks to them that I don't find the basic Bible stories difficult. It's also a pleasing combination of the best of the participating co-producing countries. It is because of the influence of this series that I really miss those great narrative films set in the ancient Orient. I've had enough of the ancient world and Cleopatra.
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