Customer Reviews

Simon Magus

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This film has been sorely overlooked. I highly recommend seeing Simon Magus, particularly if you are a fan of Mr. Holme or Mr. Taylor.

That this film is not offered in a US format is completely unacceptable! Shame on those who own the home video rights to Simon Magus.


Sincerely,

Kevin

Simon Magus is really a tale from the vanished world, and it captures several important points which are displayed in such a beautiful manner. One point is that Simon is an orphaned and poor outcast; this is clearly shown by his rather odd attitude towards the men as he asks for alms. His shambling gait and tramp's hat frighten people, seeing as he believes to be possessed by the Devil himself. His position as a poor orphan makes the village, or most of it, think they can do with him as they please, seeing there is nobody to protect him, and his aloneness makes his revival of his true self more intense and magical.
Another point is the way in which the plotting Hause, a Christian, uses Simon's pitiful and lonely situation to aid in his goal to buy the land for the railroad. You truly see the vicious malice in Hause's eyes as he holds back his rage when he loses, and quickly gets his revenge, which is truly tragical but at the same time uplifting as you realise the beauty of death, which Simon Magus so clearly explains.
I love Simon Magus as a film because not only does it shows the journey of a man from the belief that he was demonically possessed and his being shunned out from his very home and people, so cold-heartedly that he turns over to the other side, and so beautifully returns to his home, to his true self.
This is the scene in the movie in which it is Passover and Simon slips unnoticed into the synagogue, after almost, just almost betraying the Jews, but deciding not to. He listens as the men chant their prayers, then you see in his eyes that he truly repents and the tears flow down his cheeks as he, too, begins to repeat the hymn.
I think that this is the most poignant moment of the entire movie; it truly captivates your mind when you think of all the trials and tribulations the pitiful orphan has suffered, he had gone and come back. Also, the deep voices of the men and Simon's trembling lips accentuate his strengthening of faith.
As Simon persists in seeking a loving heart, something else happens. Another Jew, Dovid, competes with Hause, through poetry, and I think this is a very lyrical and romantic touch; you don't buy land by reading your landlord's poetry everyday.
The Devil plays a role, too in deciding Simon's actions, and for his to remove himself from such an evil power's threats and manipulation... that is rightly an act of faith.
This `competition' greatly influences Simon's behaviour, which he tears away from. Offered Christian ways, he timidly embraces them yet cannot sacrifice his old Jewish ways, for that is what he truly is.

I caught this film on Sundance last night and really enjoyed it. It has a wonderful atmosphere capturing by way of artful and strange photography a lost a vanished world. The characters are richly drawn, the story brings to life the predjudice and often lethal interactions between jews and gentiles in the small communities in Europe casting light on the events of the 30's and 40's.

This reminded me of the work of Isaac Balshevis Singer and also of the work of Eli Weisel.

This is an important small film, richly drawn, showing the intersection of the "seen" and the "unseen" the percolated through European jewery in the 1800's through the end of that world in 1945.

A man, with a few loose marbles for brains, has a profound impact on a segregated Jewish and Gentile community. He is the difference maker for those in power who wish to obtain a small parcel of land for a new railroad station.

Simon Magus is an adult fable, set in the Jewish community of a small European town, about 200 years ago. It has the feel of the post WWII community in Chocolat, with the established townspeople and the gypsies down by the river. Their community is dwindling as many have "left for Amerika." They are close to not having the minimum of ten men needed for worship in the synagogue. Simon (Noah Taylor) lives in what truly is a shack and his job is to clean the waste from the outhouses.

Dovid often goes to the local bakery run by Leah (Embeth Davidtz), more for his attraction to her than for the sweets in her oven (pun intended). She's a widow with two children, and is not interested in his romantic advances...until she sees him with Sarah (Amanda Ryan). Leah thinks it's a romantic relationship, but in fact, Sarah is teaching Dovid about poetry. She's a learned woman, and this is a time when women are not supposed to be able to read. She has recently returned from living in the city, to this backward country town. Her reasons are unexplained.

Far too many of us can only feel good about ourselves when we can look down upon others. Too many gentiles hate Jews and within this Jewish community, the men worship on the first floor while the children and their illiterate mothers are in the balcony. There is a certain Jim Crow aspect to that which goes beyond the notion of conservatism. True, this fantasy takes place 200 years ago, but as illustrated in the recent film Kadosh, not a lot has changed in certain segments of the Jewish community.

Maybe there is something to the notion that "Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is not a vice," as Barry Goldwater said, presidential candidate in 1964. That notion must be a fundamental part of human nature. Does this tell us that even a pacifist needs to own a gun? Good seems to always be on the defensive against evil. Perhaps the best defense is a good offense.