Esther

Story

Synopsis

Ahasverus, king of Persia and Media, puts aside Vashti and makes Esther his queen, choosing her among maidens in a kingdom stretching from India to Ethiopia. Esther, using information from Mordecai, her uncle and patron, saves the king from assassination. Haman, the king's favorite, is miffed when Mordecai won't bow to him, so he orders death to all Jews in the kingdom, under the seal of the king. Esther pleads for her people, and Mordecai is in turn given license to make his own edict under the king's seal. Mordecai loses sight of his original intention, and bloody murder ensues. Purim annually celebrates the story. At the end of the film, the actors comment.

Director

Amos Gitai

Writers

Amos Gitai, Stephan Levine

Language

Hebrew (modern)

Country

Austria, France, United Kingdom, Israel, Netherlands

Release date

1 January 1986

Ensemble

Cast

• Simone Benyamini

  Esther

• 

  Juliano Mer-Khamis

  Haman

• Zare Vartanian

  Ahasverus

• David Cohen

  Hagai

• 

  Shmuel Wolf

  Narrator

• Sara Cohen

  Singer in Hebrew

• Rim Bani

  Singer in Arabic

• 

  Mohammad Bakri

  Mordecai

• Yasmin Alush

• Fuad Awad

• Sigal Azrad

• Nahoom Berkovitch