Simon is an outcast from his Jewish community because he claims that the devil talks to him and he has the ability to put curses on crops. When Dovid asks the 'Squire' to sell him some land so he can build a railway station, a ruthless businessman from the neighbouring gentile community uses Simon to find out who wants to buy the land so he can 'persuade' him otherwise
Acting
Noah Taylor's twitchy, heartbreaking outsider prophet
Cinematography
Misty Eastern European villages that feel half-real
Production
Haunting period detail on obviously limited budget
Director
Ben Hopkins
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ben Hopkins spent years developing this after a failed attempt to adapt Isaac Bashevis Singer; the railway plot was his own invention grafted onto Jewish folk tradition.
The film deliberately echoes the medieval 'blood libel' against Jews but inverts it—Simon is persecuted BY his own community for perceived demonic alliance, not by outsiders.
US
GB
