Esther (Hebrew: אסתר) is a 97-minute 1986 Austrian-British-Dutch-Israeli Hebrew-language independent underground dramatic historical experimental art film directed by Amos Gitai, his directorial debut. The film tells the story of Esther from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Esther and stars Simone Benyamini, Zare Vartanian, Mohammad Bakri and Juliano Mer-Khamis.
When King Ahasuerus (Zare Vartanian) of Persia drives out of his court Queen Vashti for refusing to show up before him, a frantic search for young virgins is unleashed throughout the kingdom, extending from India to Ethiopia. Esther, an orphan who was raised by her Jewish uncle, Mordecai (Mohammad Bakri), has entered the King's harem, having been chosen as his wife without the knowledge that she was Jewish. At court, she has thwarted an attack against the King thanks to information provided by her uncle. For the service rendered, Esther and Mordecai have become the only free court characters not to prostrate themselves in front of anyone. However, when Mordecai refuses to bow to Minister Haman (Juliano Mer-Khamis), the latter commands the death of all of the Jews of the kingdom under the seal of the King. This is discovered by Esther and Mordecai, who devise a plan to save their people. Mordecai acts in advance against Haman, ordering the vengeful extermination of all of those who want the death of the Jews.[1][2][3]
Stephen HoldenofThe New York Times opined that "[t]hough not especially entertaining, it is quite handsome and bristling with ideas."[4] In Israel, however, some reviewers were more negative. Daniel Warth of Ha'ir, while noticing similarities to the works of Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bertolt Brecht, and Miklós Jancsó, stated that the film "is an artistic pretension which remains nothing but an aesthical drill with unsophisticated political declarations."[7]
Schenkar, Guilhad Emilio (12 August 2014). חי בסרט – עמוס גיתאי [Living in Films – Amos Gitai] (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Ministry of Education’s Israeli Educational Television. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
Ehrich, Carl S.[in German] (September 2016). "Esther in film". In Burnette-Bletsch, Rhonda (ed.). The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film. Handbooks of the Bible and Its Reception (HBR). Vol. 2. Berlin and Boston, Massachusetts: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 122–124. ISBN9781614513261. OCLC959149599. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via Google Books.
Fainaru, Edna; Fainaru, Dan (9 April 1986). אסתר – משוש האינטלקטואלים [Esther – The Opium of the Intellectuals] (PDF). HaOlam HaZeh (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv-Yafo: HaOlam HaZeh. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
^Gitai, Prof. Dr. Amos (2005). ברלין ירושלים [Berlin-Jerusalem] (DVD) (in Hebrew). Ramat HaSharon: NMC Music’s Globus United King Films. OCLC920667873. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
^Warth, Daniel (9 July 1986). תרגיל אסתטי [An Aesthetical Drill] (PDF). Ha'ir (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv-Yafo: Haaretz Group's Schocken Group [he]. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2018 – via idea.cimema.co.il.
Sources used
Wacker, Prof. Dr. Marie-Theres [de]. Das biblische Estherbuch zwischen Palästina und Israel. Zum Film Esther von Amos Gitai (1986) und seiner Kontextualisierung [The Biblical Book of Esther Between Palestine and Israel: On the Film Esther By Amos Gitai (1986) and Its Contextualization]. In: Zwick, Prof. Dr. Reinhold, Hrsg. (2013). Religion und Gewalt im Bibelfilm [Religion and Violence in Bible Films]. Film & Theologie [Film & Theology], Band 20 (in German). Marburg: Schüren Verlag [de], Juli 2012, S. 39–59. ISBN9783894727604. OCLC818726511. Retrieved 1 October 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
