Simon Magus - DaaVeeDee

Simon Magus (DVD) (*)

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Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival
British Independent Film Awards
Camerimage Awards
Catalonian International Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
116 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1999 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )
Italy ( Italy, Greece )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Ben Hopkins

Written By:
Ben Hopkins

Actors:
Noah Taylor ..... Simon
Stuart Townsend ..... Dovid Bendel
Sean McGinley ..... Maximillian Hase
Embeth Davidtz ..... Leah
Amanda Ryan ..... Sarah
Rutger Hauer ..... Count Albrecht, the Squire
Ian Holm ..... Sirius/Boris/The Devil
Terence Rigby ..... Bratislav
Toby Jones ..... Buchholz
Jim Dunk ..... Saul
Ursula Jones ..... Rebecca
Cyril Shaps ..... Chaim
David de Keyser ..... Rabbi
Ken Dury ..... Priest
Tom Fisher ..... Thomas

Synopsis:

It is the end of the 19th century and progress has arrived in Silesia. Travelers do not stop at the town anymore because the railway track is laid past the small settlement. Incomes have dropped, and so has the number of inhabitants. Noah Taylor plays Simon, a 'holy fool' of sorts, persecuted by fellow villagers who hold him responsible for everything from the failure of the crops to the milk going sour. Simon, who resembles a scarecrow, lives in a hut outside the village. He earns his living emptying the sewers, existing on dry bread and the occasional herring or pickle given by the wife of a rabbi. He knows how to entertain the village children with his magic tricks and devilish masks. At the same time, he feels he actually is pursued by the devil, which makes him do all kinds of evil things, only increasing his isolation. There is also the poor but good-looking Jew, Dovid, who keeps proposing to the beautiful widow Leah, who rejects him. Dovid devises a plan to build the village economy, and in the process gain her affection. He pays a visit to the eccentric poet esquire and agrees to a business deal which entails the esquire allowing a new railway station to be built on his property in return for Dovid reading his newly published anthology. Unfortunately, Hase Sean McGinley, a wealthy Christian merchant with more money and little respect for the Jewish villagers, is also interested in the railway project. Simon Magus is the story of a village caught between two worlds - the new industrial order and the old, rural world of tradition and superstition.

Simon is an outcast from his Jewish community because he claims that the devil talks to him and he has the ability to put curses on crops. When Dovid asks the 'Squire' to sell him some land so he can build a railway station, a ruthless businessman from the neighbouring gentile community uses Simon to find out who wants to buy the land so he can 'persuade' him otherwise.

A magical tale from a Vanished World.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 15 November, 2005.

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