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Simon Magus is more than a little deranged. As an outcast
of his nineteenth century Polish Jewish community, Simon claims
that he has been given extraordinary powers by the Devil,
powers to destroy the crops which keep the community alive.
However progress is coming to this lost little world in the
form of a railway. Dovid, aware that his community is slowly
dying, determines to purchase some land from the squire to
build a railway station, hoping that this will bring trade
and wealth back and help a local widow, Leah. Dovid isn't
the only one with this idea; a ruthless businessman Maxamillian
Hase, from the local Gentile community, also wants the land
and uses Simon to find out who Dovid is and what pressure
can be applied to remove his opponent...
Simon
Magus (1999) is a beautiful fantasy of a world long gone.
Directed and written by Ben Hopkins who has written and directed
a little over five films, all of which are impressive in their
own individual way. The film won the Catalonian International
Film Festival award for best director and best actor for Noah
Taylor's portrayal of Simon. Simon Magus is beautifully
shot, turning Wales on a budget into a dark and mysterious
land, shot in sumptuously muted earth tones, where you really
would believe that you could run across the Devil. Given its
modest budget Hopkins has done a wonderful job of making the
film look a lot more expensive than it is. He has also gathered
together a prestigious cast who all produce excellent performances.
Taylor
deserves the accolade that the film secured for him; his portrayal
of Simon is mad, bad and ultimately very tragic. Whether madman
or true seer, Simon's visions are prophetic, and whilst he
remains unsure of the meaning of them, when he sees the railway
taking Jews to hell he knows that the angel of death will
ultimately be coming for them all and his instrument will
be the railway. Whilst all around him view the railway as
a bringer of wealth Simon knows it is a harbinger of death.
It is this fear and the rejection of his own community which
drives Simon to initially convert to Catholicism and fall
under the evil influence of Hase.
Ian Holm does a good turn as a very creepy Devil. It remains
ambiguous throughout whether Simon is really seeing the Devil
or if he remains a fool who has been touched by god. Rutger
Hauer, as the poet prince, also seems to be a character whose
time has come, though he understands little of the changes
which will sweep across his lands trampling truth and beauty
beneath its jackboots.
The
film isn't really a horror film, though it has elements of
the genre, nor is it a fairytale. If anything the film is
more like a tone poem capturing a moment of transition. The
dying communities, both Gentile and Jew are on the cusp of
a change, where old rivalries and buried hatreds will find
full expression in the twentieth century, here represented
by the introduction of the railway and, like King Lear,
only the mad can understand what is happening with any clarity.
Running at a little under one hour and forty minutes the film
print is excellent, though the audio is stereo. However, this
is not a film that would have gained anything significant
from having a 5.1 soundtrack. Given how good the film is the
extras are generous indeed. Included is National Achievement
Day, which is a short twenty-five minute Hopkins film
from 1995 and a number of biographies of cast and crew. There
is a commentary from Hopkins himself, which allows a greater
insight to the making of the film and some of its influences.
As
this is a generously proportioned disc, the second slightly
shorter film (87 mins) is The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz
(2000).
It's
the end of the world as we know it and Tomas, an extraterrestrial,
arrives the day before Armageddon. Climbing out of a sewer
he takes a cab into London, where he starts body hopping and
causing chaos. The only person who has any inkling of what
is happening is a blind Ouija board owning policeman...
Shot
in black and white, with a very large nod to German expressionistic
cinema, The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz is a delightfully
odd little film which at times is very funny, full of surreal
imagery and playful madness; it's a real delight to watch,
in which Hopkins uses a myriad of cinemagraphic styles to
further add to the feeling of playful unease.
Tom
Fisher, who plays Tomas, obviously has a lot of fun with his
various roles, especially as the more than a little insane
Minister for Fisheries, who declares war on Gwupigrupynudyland,
throwing fourth para into the thick of war as a punishment
- he still blames them for the sodomisation of his aunt Julia.
Ian McNeice plays the blind policeman with a penchant for
spiritualism, and is known to his peers as Mystic Meg. As
the inspector tracks down Tomas the world and the film becomes
increasingly insane.
The
film comes with a commentary and, like the previous movie
in this collection, is presented in stereo.
Overall,
this is a great introduction to Hopkins work and is a worthy
addition to any film lover's collection, especially lovers
of movies that aren't afraid to think outside the box.
 
Charles
Packer
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