Did I mention that I saw One Night with the King over the weekend? I'm all for supporting any decent films derived from the Bible that appear on the scene and from what I'm hearing Fox has created a division of their film company to do just that along with other family friendly fare. I'm happy to see Hollywood finally catching on that there is a definite market for this type of films and that Christians will not only go to the theater but they will purchase the DVDs, and assorted paraphanalia that goes along with them for themselves and others.
One Night with the King was a beautiful movie...wide and encompassing...epic like. The set and scenery were grand, the costumes were detailed, the actors were good...some even famous....the story was told pretty well although here's where my praise begins to falter....I decided that there was a good bit of talking and not nearly as much action as modern audiences are used to which is fine for kids but this is an adult themed story and it did deal with the warring nation of Persia. Although the story line was fairly clear...there were several places where had I not known the tale I would have had difficulty connecting the dots to understand the "whys" of it all. Also I felt that what should have been the most dramatic moments of the story were not highlighted quite enough...they seemed anticlimatic...for example...when Esther enters the Kings court, unsummoned the first time and he raises his scepter to her...the message is clear that she is facing death to do so...it is clear that the court is appalled at her action...but when the moment arrives...the drama is placed more on the body guard about to slay her than on the king raising the scepter to spare her....
I would also say that this is the only sexy scene in the film...which is fairly unrealistic I would think with harem girls "trying out" to be queen...if the king is smitten by Esther he doesn't really show it so when he does ask her to be queen it makes you wonder why...although he says he has been able to think of nothing but her...you don't see any of that in the movie.
The thing that bothered me most was a sort of secondary message, or perhaps it was the primary message, concerning the Greeks and democracy. The entire war with the Greeks and the blaming of the Jews for being sympathizers was centered around democracy and the Persians fear of it. I felt it was a thinly veiled ploy to deliver a moral to the story, a pro American/anti terrorist type message ... something you definitley do not see in the Book of Esther...and in my opinion inappropriate and unnecessary.
I do look forward to more groundbreaking Christian and family films in the future. Hopefully this one will pave the way a bit more.
Did you see it? What did you think?
10 comments:
I loved it! A bunch of the church went together to see it. I agree it was one of the better done christian films I've seen. It didn't come across as low budget. My favorite line was when the eunich asked her where she was from, she answered, "I'm from the wind". It reminded me that the word spirit can be translated wind. So in effect she answered, I'm from the spirit. Good movie.
good review - i agree about the plotline - my husband and i read the book of esther before going and were still confused by some of the war stuff going on - wasn't in what we just read - and even if it is in historical background, it really didn't seem to fit the movie. also, my sister would agree with you on the romance. she didn't think his sudden rush of love was believable and she hated the proposal. i, on the otherhand, thought the bedroom scene with the rose petals was one of the best scenes in the movie. i felt that that king finally got vulnerable. and vulnerable he was. deep and smitten. i also enjoyed the aforementioned "wind" scene, and the running through the rain, bursting open doors scene, though i agree, more emphasis could've been placed on the sceptor. i thought the sub-plot of an affair being suspected was kind of lame. i really enjoyed that esther asked the king about vashti. i thought that was very realistic. anyway, those are some of my thoughts. overall, i enjoyed it and thought both main unknown actors did a nice job.
Haven't seen it...unfortunately I checked their website and the nearest place near me is over 40 miles away...hopefully it will come closer! Soundsl ike a good movie. BTW...happy belated anniversary!
Thanks for your good review, because I've wondered if the movie was done right. Might brush up beforehand by reading the book of Esther;-) We plan to see it soon--sounds like something I'll enjoy.
I haven't seen it. But you sure make me want to. And yes, it's so nice that Hollywood is finally waking up a little and realizing there's an audience for Christian movies out here.
I'm a "no show" at the movies. Sitting too long makes me s.l.e.e.p.y!
.... but I enjoyed reading your review.
i want to go! i was very excited to see the previews.
btw, i wouldn't really call this a hollywood film, it was put out by tommy tenney....
I'm sorry I didn't include this in my review. The story was written by Tommy Tenny and produced by the Crouch family of TBN fame.
My reference to Hollywood is referring to the new division at Fox for specifically family friendly, even religious filming. I have heard that Fox was involved in the promotion of this film but I have no hard eveidence of that.
I saw this featured in a special program on TBN, with the emphasis on the fact that it's part of Fox's new division.
Thanks for everyone's reviews. I haven't seen it, but it helps to hear what you all thought.
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