| Simon Magus | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ben Hopkins |
| Written by | Rob Cheek Ben Hopkins |
| Produced by | Robert Jones |
| Starring | Stuart Townsend Noah Taylor Rutger Hauer Embeth Davidtz Sean McGinley Ian Holm |
| Cinematography | Nicholas D. Knowland |
| Edited by | Alan Levy |
| Music by | Deborah Mollison |
| Distributed by | FilmFour |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
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.[1]
The film is named for the village fool Simon (Noah Taylor), who is in turn named for the 1st century magician Simon Magus.
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 (Rutger Hauer) agrees to provide the land, on the condition that Dovid will read his poetry. A cunning business man (Sean McGinley) 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.
