A Tenda Vermelha

I never thought I would be moved or experience the original story from any biblical story by now. Having the perspective of Dinah who is forgotten for centuries or located in the Book as a footnote is revolutionary in the first place, and the series itself does not have any mass or fuss in the narrative, very neat and simple yet absorbing. The message of forgiveness is never forgotten, and the audience can feel the warmth, spirituality, and solidarity of women of the tribe throughout the series. Rebecca Ferguson's acting is distinguished, and she is never a moment awkward portraying from a free-spirited girl to a mother who suffered many tragedies.

This was a favorite book of mine. I was very worried that they would screw this but it is very true to the book. No, it is not an exact retelling of the Bible. Then again, the Bible has many versions and is written word of stories passed down. This is historical fiction loosely based on the Bible and the way women lived and were treated at the time. That is really the main point of the story. That women can learn from each other and that we cannot always rely on men to do the right thing. That women are strong, resourceful and are often supporting men behind the scenes. The problem I have is that the main characters "The Good Guys" are obviously English, light skinned with English accents. The dark ones more often than not were "The Bad Guys". Also, they kept showing her in satin sheets. I doubt they had satin sheets in 1000 BC or whatever the date was.

The movie is loosely based on the life of Dinah. The movie was written for a twenty-first century audience; therefore, it has some historical inaccuracies. The movie is "loosely" based on the life of Dinah. If you are a Bible scholar you will notice that the story does not follow the story recorded in the Bible. The acting is noteworthy; the actors are equally matched in their abilities and do an adequate job. It was a pleasant surprise to see Debra Winger playing a gruff and a little scary grandmother. While Minnie Driver was on the screen she was a delight playing her role with great ease converting the weak eye Leah into wise beauty. The movie is well worth watching.

In general I don't like historical stories because it often tells the story of warriors with no spirit, only narrating the quest of victory. But this story shows a great sense of tragedy. I really loved how it was telling the story of real people, the tragic events in a family that explain certain human behaviors, the sense of honor or respect. I found the movie conveyed a great sense of human spirit. Everything is really human, anyone would understand each character I think. The main character seemed also very real, the actress did an excellent job. I had the impression of seeing the story of a real woman, one that gets hurt, and overcomes the difficulties on her own. I didn't mind God was not mentioned, I found the focus on the people to be more relevant because it depicts how humans are. I really felt torn about the story of each character. It was so epic! Great tragedy.

It also got me more interested in biblical stories, I might read more of it because of this movie. For example, I would like to read more about the story of Joseph. This movie and the original author have the merit to draw the attention on biblical stories and characters. I didn't even know Jacob had a daughter, choosing Dinah as the narrator gives power to the story and offers us an original and great angle to view the story.

Thanks for bringing her to my attention.

The Red Tent is a TV mini-series about Dinah the daughter of Jacob and half-sister to Joseph (he of the technicoloured dreamcoat fame). Told from a woman's point of view (unusual for TV/movie biblical stories) it revisits Old Testament family goings-on.

I enjoyed it at three hours, any longer would have been pushing my attention span. It was pretty realistic, as far as I know - my knowledge of this era/area being somewhat limited. The acting was fairly good, bar one or two exceptions (perhaps some rushing through the production at times caused this?).

All in all: a good thing for the family to watch during a festive season such as Easter or Christmas; but perhaps a little bit mature for the truly wee ones.