Esther

Esther, also known as The Bible: Esther, is a 1999 American-Italian-German television film based on the Book of Esther, directed by Raffaele Mertes and starring Louise Lombard as Queen Esther, F. Murray Abraham as Mordechai, Jürgen Prochnow as Haman, Thomas Kretschmann as King Achashverosh and Ornella Muti as Vashti. It aired in the United States on November 5, 2000. Plot Hadassah, a beautiful Jewish girl, lives with her cousin (and legal guardian) Mordechai in Shushan, the capital of Persia. After King Ahasuerus deposes Queen Vashti for her refusal to obey him, he is advised to choose a new queen. Guards then search the entire kingdom for worthy candidates, taking them from their homes by force to the palace. Mordecai attempts to hide Hadassah but she is captured by the guards. For her protection and at the insistence of Mordechai, Hadassah changes her name to Esther, meaning "hidden". Esther and the rest of the young women are taken to the first harem, where they are placed under the custody of Haggai, a royal eunuch and chief custodian of the harem. Meanwhile, Haman, another royal advisor rises to power and the favor of the king. Memuchan, a trusted chamberlain of the king, is wary of Haman's ambition. Mordechai also makes an enemy of Haman, due to Mordechai's refusal to bow to Haman as others do. Haman plots revenge on Mordechai.