Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

kjenkins This was an amazingly told story, and if the author had changed the names of every character, moved the context to almost any more primitive culture, it would have been wonderful. But I kept realizing that, at every turn, the author betrays the characters of the real history of the family of Jacov, and shreds every measure of decency in everyone's story to aggrandize the one-chapter person of Dinah. There is nothing wrong with a little story embellishment, so long as it doesn't move into downright lies. But this tale is riddled with lies. The author claims that Rivkah - Rebeccah - is a diviner of some sort, and a rather self-absorbed woman, which is not suggested in the history of these people at all. She tells that the circumcision of Shechem and family and friends was Jacov's idea, instead of the notion of his sons, the brothers of Dinah. And the author assumes the idol worship of the wives of Jacov where there is no cause to make such an assumption. In fact, Jacov's father's wife is chosen from these same people BECAUSE they are not of the idol worshiping kind. He is sent to the same people - the people of his mother - and he is sent by his mother, to find a worthy position in life and a suitable bride. He gets four. On that count the author is correct though making more assumptions on the brides Zilpah and Bilhah. If this tale had taken place in a galaxy far, far away, and if all the names had been changed - if the author was not trying to re-write scripture to her own ends above God's, it would have been wonderful. BUT I only rate it a three because it plays so fast and loose with the truth. It is almost as if it were written by a Clinton.

tdidymas The movie was generally well-done. The acting well-matched the setting and script. Parts of the story were somewhat abrupt, but understandable since it's trying to pack most of a lifetime into 3 hours, however it could have been improved as far as time transitions. Background and clothing also appeared to well-fit the story.The story depicts the viewpoint of a woman bitter against her father and some of her brothers. It showed some anti-Semitic prejudice in depicting character flaws in Jacob and his sons, in contrast to the women and Canaanite men and Egyptians who were depicted as righteous people. One might wonder if the writer of the story was a non-Jewish Palestinian sympathizer instead of a bitter daughter/sister.Notwithstanding a few minor historical problems, the movie was professional and captivating, and worth seeing again.

asparegus The Red Tent is a glimpse into what life might have been like for women back during the days of Jacob. It follows the story of Dinah, Jacob's only daughter, starting from when he meets Rachel until Dinah's birth, where she takes over as the star of the story up until his death. The story of Joseph (and subsequently, Dinah) takes place during a time where the vast majority of people neither read nor wrote. Stories were an oral tradition. So without real, concrete knowledge of the time, the Red Tent brings a captivating look at what life for women might have been like at the time. It follows this pursuit with little care for religion, which it practically ignores, including most of Joseph's story. And of course, it follows this up with the flare and dramatic license we expect from a movie (or miniseries in this case). If you're looking for a biblical story, you're going to have to look elsewhere. If you're looking for a historically-accurate piece, you should probably watch a documentary. If you're looking for a captivating piece about a girl experiencing becoming a woman, a wife, a mother, and all the other challenges of her sex set in a beautiful interpretation of Biblical times, then I think you'll really enjoy this miniseries.

dag749 All of the negative reviews ignore the reality that this miniseries is not based on the book of Genesis, but the book The Red Tent. Anita Diamant wrote The Red Tent as a feminist Midrash. (Wikipedia defines Midrash as "a method of interpreting biblical stories that goes beyond simple distillation of religious, legal, or moral teachings. It fills in gaps left in the biblical narrative regarding events and personalities that are only hinted at.") She wanted to expand on The Rape of Dinah, a chapter in Genesis. What was Dinah's life before and after that brief chapter? In addition, she asks whether women were totally subservient to men or did they stand up for themselves and wield their own power? Since the people who wrote down the Bible were all men, did they omit or edit out important contributions of women?My critique of the miniseries is that the portrayal of Jacob is too positive, compared to the book. I think this was done to lessen criticism from Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians.