''Simon Magus'' is a 1999 British historical mystery drama film directed by Ben Hopkins and starring Noah Taylor and Stuart Townsend. It was entered into the

49th Berlin International Film Festival The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with ''Aimée & Jaguar'' by Max Färberböck. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The Thin Red Line'' directed by ...

Background

The film is named for the village fool Simon ( Noah Taylor), who is in turn named for the 1st century magician Simon Magus.

Plot

In 19th century Poland, a Jew named Dovid Bendel ( Stuart Townsend) tries to revive his dwindling shtetl village by building a railway station next to it. The

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

( Rutger Hauer) agrees to provide the land, on the condition that Dovid will read his poetry. A cunning business man (

Sean McGinley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

) is also interested in the land and he tries to compete using money and threats. Through this all wanders the outcast Simon ( Noah Taylor), a man rumoured to have magical powers.

Cast

* Stuart Townsend as Dovid Bendel * Noah Taylor as Simon Magus * Rutger Hauer as Count Albrecht *

Embeth Davidtz Embeth Jean Davidtz (born August 11, 1965) is an American-South African actress. Her screen roles include movies such as ''Army of Darkness'', ''Schindler's List, '' ''Matilda'', ''Mansfield Park'', ''Bicentennial Man'', ''Fallen,'' '' Junebug,' ...

as Leah *

as Hase *

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, ...

as Sirius/Boris/Head *

Terence Rigby Terence Christopher Gerald Rigby (2 January 1937 – 10 August 2008) was an English actor with a number of film and television credits to his name. In the 1970s he was well known as police dog-handler PC Snow in the long-running series '' Soft ...

as Bratislav *

Amanda Ryan Amanda Ryan (born 10 October 1971) is an English actress who trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is best known for her role on Channel 4's popular comedy drama '' Shameless'' as Sgt. Carrie Rogers and her appearance in the mus ...

as Sarah * David de Keyser as Rabbi *

Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama ''Orlando'' in 1992. He ...

as Buchholtz * Kathryn Hunter as Grandmother *

Walter Sparrow Walter Leonard Sparrow (22 January 1927 – 31 May 2000) was an English film and television actor best known for his appearance as Duncan in the 1991 film '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' starring Kevin Costner. Born in Eltham, London in ...

as Benjamin * Jean Anderson as Roise

References

External links

* * 1999 films 1999 romantic drama films British mystery films British romance films British fantasy films Films directed by Ben Hopkins Films about Jews and Judaism British romantic drama films The Devil in film 1990s English-language films 1990s British films {{1990s-romantic-drama-film-stub