Simon: Noah Taylor	Leah: Embeth Davidtz
Squire: Rutger Hauer	Max: Ian Holm
Hase: Sean McGinley	Dovid: Stuart Townsend
Director: Ben Hopkins	Sarah: Amanda Ryan

30 Second Bottom Line: 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.

Story Line: 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 (Stuart Townsend) is an aspiring businessman who wants to open a retail complex along the path to the new railroad station. He goes to the Squire (Rutger Hauer), a landholder for many generations, who loves to both write and read poetry, to try to convince him to sell the two acres of land he needs. They strike a deal in which Dovid is to read poetry and come back to the Squire in a week and discuss the terms of the purchase once more. Dovid needs a generous land contract loan, a below market price or a helping hand. He stands no chance of winning any type of bid for the property.

The current retail trader in the area is a gentile named Max (Ian Holm). On the surface he does not appear to hate Jews, but he certainly doesn't wish them well. He also wants the land, as his business has dropped due to more goods moving on the RR and not using the dirt road that passes his store.

Max goes to the Squire as well, and because of his stature, totally dismisses the thought of reading poetry as he is requested. For the Squire, doing business is related to culture. He is more interested in one's willingness to learn rather than what they may already know. Dovid has no money and is willing to read poetry, while Max has plenty of cash and is not. Clearly, this is a source of conflict.

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.

Simon Magus is the town fool (there's always one in fables) who can fall asleep on the RR tracks and not be killed. He is used by Max as a spy to find out who the competition is for the land he wants to buy from the Squire. Although Max finds Simon repulsive, because he is, the most important aspect of his dislike for him is that he's a Jew.

To get what he wants, he's willing to have Simon not only in his house, but to share a glass of wine with him at his dining table. Max is a precursor to the KKK, but without the robes. His actions do come close on rhetoric and violence. The only thing that matters is what he wants, and to him any means necessary are justified and moral. While Simon may be a fool, he is not stupid, so Max will get his comeuppance at the appropriate time.

We can see where the story is going and that is fine. We know Max and Dovid will butt heads about the land; that Dovid and Leah will somehow find a way to embrace each other; and that in spite of the age and religious differences, the Squire and Sarah are meant for each other.

Tell Me More About It: 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.

Noah Taylor: Almost Famous	Embeth Davidtz: Mansfield Park
Rutger Hauer: New World Disorder	Ian Holm: Bless the Child
Sean McGinley: The Claim	Stuart Townsend: Wonderland
Amanda Ryan: Elizabeth	Ben Hopkins: National Achievement Day