Esther

After the King of Persia rejects his first wife for refusing to appear before his guests, he seeks a new queen from among the most beautiful young women in the land. A Jewish girl named Hadassa, raised by her uncle Mordechai, enters the court and wins the king's favor, becoming Queen Esther. When a high-ranking official named Haman convinces the king to order the massacre of all Jews in the empire, Esther must risk her life by approaching the monarch without an invitation to save her people from destruction.

This 1999 television movie was directed by Raffaele Mertes, marking the first of four films in his documented career. The screenplay was written by Sandy Niemand and produced by Lorenzo Minoli, Roberta Cadringher, and Luca Bernabei. The film features a cast including Louise Lombard as the titular character, alongside Ornella Muti, F. Murray Abraham, Jürgen Prochnow, and Thomas Kretschmann.

The production was a multinational effort involving companies from several countries, including Germany, Italy, and the United States. With a runtime of 87 minutes, the drama has received a generally positive response from viewers. It holds a rating of 6.6/10 on IMDb based on 1,800 votes and a 6.8/10 rating on TMDB from 40 votes.