Best movie of this year hands down!

Touches You

Absolutely Brilliant!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The tenth in a series of TV movies based on stories from the Bible, this drama entitled,Esther stars Louise Lombard in the title role.Esther is a common Jewish woman who rose to wealth and power when she captured the heart of the King of Persia. Eventually, Esther opted to use her influence to win freedom and a better life for her people.Also,it features F. Murray Abraham as Mordecai, Esther's cousin and foster father together with Jürgen Prochnow,Thomas Kretschmann,Ornella Muti and Natasha Williams; and it is directed by Raffaele Mertes.This is a fairly elaborate production with a solid supporting cast, it proceeds at a relaxed pace and never quite takes off dramatically. But it does provide a solid telling of Esther's story, and if considered as something of a docudrama, it's successful.Also,it does provide much of the period flavor of ancient life, and the major facets of the story and portrayals of the characters coincide with biblical accounts.Overall,it is a good TV movie that accurately portrays Esther and it gives the viewer a good understanding of this book of the Bible.

This is another film in the Time Life series of Bible films, and in "Esther" we see the events of the book of Esther from the Old Testament played out in a convincing and realistic way. The film sticks closely to the Bible narrative, even using the script word for word from the Bible, at least from the New King James Version, which I read along with the film while watching. Acting is excellent, and Louise Lombard does well in the title role. F Murray Abraham, an excellent actor, plays the part of Mordecai very well, and Thomas Kretschmann, whom I had not previously heard of, does an excellent job as King Ahaseurus. Jürgen Prochnow does a good job of playing the evil Haman, and by the time Haman is executed, I was hating Haman for his evil crimes, and regarding Mordecai, Esther and Ahaseurus with great admiration. The film also uses other Biblical characters, not mentioned in the book of Esther, but whose books come before Esther in the Bible, i.e. Ezra and Nehemiah. I am not sure if they were contemporary with Esther, or shortly after her time, but the way they are used in the film fits in very well with the story. I had previously seen a 1950s film with Joan Collins about Esther, which was totally wrong and mostly made up, whereas this film is very true to the Bible and worth seeing. Even if you have never read the Bible or know the story of Esther, I would recommend this film as it is a great film in its own right, and very enjoyable and watchable.

Obviously, as all movies based on The Bible this is only a good place to start one's introduction to The Bible....but this one is a very good intro in my opinion. As a student of The Bible for many years I found myself comparing the movie with the biblical text and found myself learning some interesting gems. For instance, this guy Ahasuerus really loved Esther deeply...which is brought out in the movie "and the scriptures" for those who care to note...why else would Ahasuerus offer Esther half the kingdom when she entered upon risk of her life and then he turns around later and offers to grant her request with "no limitations." There are other gems in this movie for those who care to see.

I have yet to read Esther fully in the Bible (but will tonight after this review) so I cannot comment on the scriptural accuracy of this film, but I will say that whether Jew or Christian, its an exceptional moving film and the main actress worthy of her title as "queen"!F. Murray Abraham and the Louise Lombard are terrific and bring real feeling to their roles. I also leaped for joy when I saw Ezra and Nehemiah brought in as supporting roles. Of the films in this excellent DVD package (Solomon, Genesis and Jeremiah) I found this the most rewarding. Someone suggested that a theology student shouldn't be using this film and others like it as cliff notes for The Bible, but I would recommend them as a wonderful starting point and rewarding entertainment for others as well. My only wish is that the rest of the films in the series would get released on DVD (Notably "David" and "Moses". They are spiritually uplifting and well worth a rental or a purchase!