Inaccuracies In One Night With The King
Critique: One Night with the King
Julienne Grace Lim
Berea A – Pastor Ang
One Night with the King is a modern retelling of the story of Hadassah or Esther. The directors and producers were able to execute the movie well, however, there were some minor inaccuracies.
In Esther chapter 1:10-11, it says that King Xerxes was in high spirits when he requested for Queen Vashti. In the movie, when the King requested for Queen Vashti, he was not in high spirits, he was broody or thoughtful. It was also not King Xerxes’ idea to request for Vashti, unlike the book implies, it was actually the people and the nobles who requested for Vashti. Another one of these minor inaccuracies can be seen in Esther chapter 5:3 when the King says that he is willing
to give her up to half of the kingdom, this phrase makes the King seem as if he wants to do something for Esther, but at this time in the movie he was actually bitter towards Esther and in the banquet of the movie, he seemed uninterested as to what Esther had to say. Another difference can be found in Esther 7:6-7, it says in this verse that Haman was terrified, but in the movie, Esther was the one who was afraid, not Haman! He actually appeared to be the victor in the situation. In verse 7 it says that Haman stood up and begged the Queen for his life to be spared. In both the movie and the Bible, Haman does beg for his life, but in the movie he begs for his life in a taunting or mocking tone, unlike in the Bible he seems genuinely scared for his life.
There is also an included item and scene in this movie. In the movie, Hadassah/Esther was given a crystal pendant that shines stars of David if the pendant is held close enough to a source of light. Since, Haman does not believe that she is a Jew, Esther shines the pendant against the candles that are placed in the table of the banquet so that the stars of David will be reflected across the room. However, it is presented that Haman cannot see the stars while the King is silent. It is later shown that the King comes back because he, “saw the stars.” For the Biblical foundation of the book, most of the scenes are accurate except for certain ones (the ones I mentioned earlier.) I liked the movie a lot. I feel like the producers and directors were able to execute the retelling of Esther well. I have watched other Bible movies before and I can honestly say that I couldn’t go halfway without falling asleep. Other movies that retell the story of Esther are accurate and all but they don’t really capture the audience’s attention. While I was watching this movie, I never found myself sleepy, I was actually excited to know what would happen next. I liked that they were also able to insert a little bit of drama, I found this to be the reason why I didn’t doze off to sleep! I didn’t like the movie that much either because I felt that the story was focusing more on the romance and drama of Esther and the King instead of other things. Over all, I felt like this movie was a great modern retelling of the story of Esther, there were just a few small inaccuracies but it was a wonderful movie.
Julienne Grace Lim
Berea A – Pastor Ang
One Night with the King is a modern retelling of the story of Hadassah or Esther. The directors and producers were able to execute the movie well, however, there were some minor inaccuracies.
In Esther chapter 1:10-11, it says that King Xerxes was in high spirits when he requested for Queen Vashti. In the movie, when the King requested for Queen Vashti, he was not in high spirits, he was broody or thoughtful. It was also not King Xerxes’ idea to request for Vashti, unlike the book implies, it was actually the people and the nobles who requested for Vashti. Another one of these minor inaccuracies can be seen in Esther chapter 5:3 when the King says that he is willing
to give her up to half of the kingdom, this phrase makes the King seem as if he wants to do something for Esther, but at this time in the movie he was actually bitter towards Esther and in the banquet of the movie, he seemed uninterested as to what Esther had to say. Another difference can be found in Esther 7:6-7, it says in this verse that Haman was terrified, but in the movie, Esther was the one who was afraid, not Haman! He actually appeared to be the victor in the situation. In verse 7 it says that Haman stood up and begged the Queen for his life to be spared. In both the movie and the Bible, Haman does beg for his life, but in the movie he begs for his life in a taunting or mocking tone, unlike in the Bible he seems genuinely scared for his life.
There is also an included item and scene in this movie. In the movie, Hadassah/Esther was given a crystal pendant that shines stars of David if the pendant is held close enough to a source of light. Since, Haman does not believe that she is a Jew, Esther shines the pendant against the candles that are placed in the table of the banquet so that the stars of David will be reflected across the room. However, it is presented that Haman cannot see the stars while the King is silent. It is later shown that the King comes back because he, “saw the stars.” For the Biblical foundation of the book, most of the scenes are accurate except for certain ones (the ones I mentioned earlier.) I liked the movie a lot. I feel like the producers and directors were able to execute the retelling of Esther well. I have watched other Bible movies before and I can honestly say that I couldn’t go halfway without falling asleep. Other movies that retell the story of Esther are accurate and all but they don’t really capture the audience’s attention. While I was watching this movie, I never found myself sleepy, I was actually excited to know what would happen next. I liked that they were also able to insert a little bit of drama, I found this to be the reason why I didn’t doze off to sleep! I didn’t like the movie that much either because I felt that the story was focusing more on the romance and drama of Esther and the King instead of other things. Over all, I felt like this movie was a great modern retelling of the story of Esther, there were just a few small inaccuracies but it was a wonderful movie.