Solomon

Solomon is crowned King of Israel and rules the land with love, peace and respect. While visiting the city, Solomon meets the beautiful Queen of Sheba and falls in love. When she returns to her homeland, Solomon falls into a deep depression, departing from his once idyllic world of peace and luxury while his kingdom threatens to collapse. Featuring an all-star cast, including Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek) as Solomon, Vivica A. Fox (TV’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Kill Bill: Vol. 1) as the Queen of Sheba, and Oscar nominee Anouk Aimée (Best Actress, Un Homme Et Une Femme, 1966) as Bathsheba. King Solomon led a grand life, thus rating this epic movie told in two parts, averaging 86 minutes apiece. Director Roger Young chronicles the king's rise from the weakling mama's boy of Bathsheba to a ruler known for his wisdom, international alliances, construction of the Jewish temple, and oh yes, those thousand wives--concubines included. Part 1 spends the first hour tracing the rivalry of Solomon (Ben Cross) with half-brother Adonijah, before and after the death of their father King David (Max Von Sydow in a brief appearance). It then makes a 10-year leap to dramatize his famous method of divining the true mother of a contested infant. In Part 2, the filmmakers embrace the legend that Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Vivica A. Fox) had a romantic as well as political alliance, suggesting that they were the star-crossed loves of each other's life and introducing some soft-focus nudity. With the queen's departure, Solomon descends into materialism and idolatry. The performances are strong and the script, penned by Bradley Winter, artfully weaves in background information to give the viewer helpful historical context. --Kimberly Heinrichs