The Red Tent (2014) User Reviews (37)

Based on the book, The Red Tent, not the Bible

[David_at_Houston · 6/10 · 22 December 2014]

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.

Epic tragedy

[erhen-o · 8/10 · 18 August 2016]

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.

It's rejuvenating to hear a woman's voice from male-dominant Bible.

[TaylorYee94 · 8/10 · 10 May 2023]

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.

Best Biblical Movie I Have Ever Seen

[raellen_hale · 10/10 · 27 December 2014]

I am a devoted Biblical researcher and minister. I have to say that I have never before seen a depiction of the Hebrew women of the Bible and their lifestyle more accurate than portrayed in this series! The Red Tent was written from the eyes of Jacob's daughter. It may have not had every aspect of Jacob's life, but then again it wasn't about him or any of these men, for once. It was about Dinah and the wonderful women in her life. This series was told in her voice. But I felt as if it was a collective voice of all women, who for years have been wounded and mistreated, as well as misrepresented in the Christian and Hebrew community for centuries. Many Hebrew women today live a similar lifestyle as depicted in the series, and many spiritual paths for women have been built on the same strength of faith and community as was shared by the women in the Red Tent. I also loved reading the rest of Dinah's story, because it was based on true accounts of other Hebrew women. I can almost feel as if I was there. And I have longed to know Dinah was alright. But,of course she was! She is the daughter of Leah and descendant of Eve. I wish Christian women would celebrate their own divinity the way these Hebrew women did! Thank you for the book and this series. Please make more like this.

Dinah and imagining her voice from research of the times

[samg00156 · 7 December 2014]

**This review may contain spoilers**

I think there might be criticism of this movie because it does not follow the biblical account. If it did, there would simply be no story from Dinah's point of view and no movie. This could be said about the majority of the women in the Bible. The Bible was written by males, from a male point of view and that's the facts. No female writers in this book at all and all is from a male point of view, except perhaps the shortbook, The Song of Songs. SO THE WOMEN'S VOICES ARE LOST TO US.

Many people aren't biblically literate and will not know things like: During the times (and this is in the texts) women were not considered to be raped if they were "in the city"...(for the logic is that they would be heard)..."in the countryside"...yes, rape could be assumed there.

Another comment I have read that is without merit is that The Red Tent is overly sexual and violent. Hint...so is the Bible. Try reading it. Also, the idea of "love at first sight" is scoffed at. Why? Why so, when told from a female's point of view, but when Jacob falls head over heels over Rachel at the well that's just as believable as it can be. It's god's word, you know. It's the male writers' words. MANY of them. And for their own agendas.

Come on, people, use your critical thinking and let historical fiction be written so women's voices can at least be heard as they might have been. Much quality research went into The Red Tent. Women's voices in the Bible are lost to us. Some midrash is totally in order. Kudos to the writer of the book and those involved in this movie. The preview looks true to the book to me...as do the summaries. Book is great.

Not bad, but not surprisingly good either

[AnnaMarijaK · 6/10 · 17 September 2015]

First of all, I found out about this show checking the IMDb.com page of Rebecca Ferguson. I really enjoyed her acting in The White Queen, so, seeing that this show is set in Biblical times, I assumed it's worth watching. I cannot say it is not good, however, I found some things truly annoying about. For instance, the weird piano music at romantic/sad/emotional scenes in the show. What's that about? It would be appropriate for a movie set in the 19th Germany or England, not this era. That put me right off of every scene where the music started to play. Secondly, this might be of personal taste, but I didn't find the actors convincing as Middle Eastern people either. Despite these things, the costumes are amazing, the set well done and the acting itself rather convincing. Sadly though, this will not be a show that I recommend my friends to watch.

UNDER-RATED

[melaena-12678 · 10/10 · 8 April 2023]

One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. So under-rated. There is a story here. One that should be told and this mini series was such a blessing. This movie sparked a light in my daughter who at the time was just 11. She even wanted to name her future child DINAH ..it sparked a light in her to learn more...more more. A light that still shines bright for her Religious journey. This movie is and will forever be cherished in our family. We own the movie and will enjoy it for years to come. I feel it will always be something we will share for generations to come. Thank you so much for producing such an amazing movie. It truly is a blessing.

A stunning movie about Dinah the daughter of Jacob and Leah.

[smanning1-180-342368 · 7/10 · 8 December 2014]

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.

Captivating Exploration into Lives of BCE Women

[asparegus · 8/10 · 27 January 2015]

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.

Dinah, Jacob and Joseph

[Julesecosse · 7/10 · 16 April 2017]

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.

A disgraceful adaptation of the book

[carlosg-algora · 4/10 · 29 December 2020]

For anyone with a taste for Hollywood tips&tricks, happy-ending included, this is perfect. For anyone that had read the book and/or feels any respect for the book and Dinah's character in it, this is a disgraceful piece of material that might (mis)lead people to think that this is the essence of the book. Invest these 4 hours in reading the book, and you will not drop it from your hands.

A biblical tale of the trials and tribulations of the 12 tribes of Israel as told from purely the women's point of view.

[don-49159 · 10/10 · 6 October 2019]

While "The Red Tent" may not be completely historically accurate as depicted in the Bible as told by a strictly male dominated story tellers The Red Tent is the trial and tribulations of being a women in a dominated male world, told by the women who lived, suffered and survived through the vast injustices perpetrated against them. It particularly follows the life of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and the perceived betrayal of her family and beliefs by two of her brother's against her royal husband. Her ultimate excile from her Homeland to live in squander in Egypt while trying to protect the son that she's not allowed to raise. This story is one of hope, faith, pain endured, forgiveness and love. Powerful performances by the main actresses, R and actors lends believability, emotional termoil and finally acceptave that God's plans are unknown yet attainable. This is absolutely, totally worth your time, thoughts and attention. I highly recommend it.

The Story Appears Anti-Semitic

[tdidymas · 7/10 · 12 March 2015]

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.

Beautifully Fraudulent

[kjenkins · 3/10 · 20 May 2015]

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.

I loved this movie!!!

[sariahreborn · 10/10 · 25 March 2015]

I absolutely loved this movie!! The acting was excellent as well as the story line. I could sense the feelings of the characters and had an easy time following the story line.

I never gave much thought to Jacobs only daughter and this movie described it so well. Such as her life. It made me think of things that I never thought of before. Such as how so many people in the Bible have stories that we never knew about. I really enjoyed watching it from start to finish.

It also helped me to understand Jacob more. I can't wait until the sequel comes out. The only thing I didn't like about the movie was the ending because it left me wanting to know more. But I still rate it 10 stars!!! I would by the DVD once it came out.

A beautiful fabrication

[nancyldraper · 9/10 · 25 October 2021]

This is an entirely fictional telling that has nothing to do with the biblical Dinah beyond the borrowed names. Its characterizations of Jewish faith and idol worship have no similarities with the realities. Instead, it has transformed the Red Tent (the tent reserved for a woman's monthly menstrual retreat from the camp) into a feminist sanctuary for a fabricated worship of female deities. So, divorced from any historical efficacy, here is my response to the series. It is beautifully shot, told and performed. Rebecca Ferguson, Minnie Driver and Morena Baccarin, all bring beauty, grace and grounded characters to life. Debra Winger was a delightful addition. The lush sets, soaring sound track, vibrant colours all give the story a wonderful depth. As a work of total fiction this is a magnificent work of art. Its richness lingers after the credits roll. I give this limited series a 9 (beautiful) out of 10. {Drama}

Surprisingly well done

[gsantonas · 8/10 · 30 December 2014]

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.

GREAT MOVIE ! Five Stars all the way !

[ensapp · 17 December 2014]

If you are expecting a rehashing from the book of Old Jewish Fairy Tales this isn't it. This is a totally engrossing drama loosely based on the daughter of the biblical figure who was Jacobs daughter told from her perspective. I have to add it to my collection. I can't find it on DVD or Blue Ray so I'm breaking out my old VCR and waiting for it to come back on. This Movie was made for a more sophisticated taste. After watching the first night I was hooked and had to see part two. After reading the other reviews I'm a bit confused, did they think it was going to be a bible story ? I guess they hated most John Wayne movies too since they were mostly fiction too. I absolutely LOVED The Red Tent and I'm determined to own a copy.

A Bible story that takes God out of it

[frank_reb · 1/10 · 15 December 2014]

Acting and production values are high. Thought this would delve into the biblical stories and theorize the life of women in this era. I fully expected a measure of creative licensing away from the core story, BUT did not expect that God's relevance would be taken out of it almost completely and the few references they gave have been negative. To me this is blasphemy. If they had just created names, changed a few events and said it was a story about the era, it would have been fine and more believable. Haven't seen the end and don't want to - read enough reviews of the book to realize it will only get worse. It's like if you went to see the Titanic to find out it was all about global warming and the poor melting iceberg.

A False Bible ***

[edwagreen · 8/10 · 25 December 2014]

Well acted but watch for gross historical inaccuracies as the author must have desperately tried to make the Jews coming into Egypt more of a romantic adventure.

True, this is a story of family betrayal and ultimate redemption, but come on, let's not lose sight of historical events occurring as they did.

Laban is made out to be a drunken man, instead of the man who tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of his beloved Rachel.

Leah's sons were evil, but killing a king and destroying their step-sister's opportunity was a bit over the top. After their dastardly deed, they are mentioned in the rest of the picture, but there is no talk of what became of them, unless the author meant letting nature and the years take their course.

Instead of The Red Tent it should be called The White Teeth

[Emberweave · 4/10 · 27 April 2021]

The story is beautifully shot, but the dialogue is silly and anachronistic at times. There is also an issue with the actors looking too modern. When watching historical stories, one has to suspend some disbelief, but the blindingly white teeth that leap off the screen were very distracting and annoying. Teeth should never be bleached whiter than the whites of a person's eyes, but people routinely overdo it. Since most scenes were bathed in sepia tones, the white teeth were even more accentuated than normal. And for all the feminist messaging in the film, it's surprisingly backwards in the way it cast roles. Dinah and Joseph, the good children, are blue-eyed and pale skinned. Early on Joseph looked almost blond. But Rueben and Levi, the evil brothers are very dark and swarthy. That's very cliched subliminal messaging. The sudden graphic violence at the end of part one was extremely off-putting since it was so out of synch with the tone of the rest of the film. A lot of talented actors were wasted on this drivel. I went into this film really looking to be entertained and I was sorely disappointed.

Just WOW

[joujou-42951 · 10/10 · 3 January 2019]

JUST AMAZING!!! I Really like the way they portrayed the story and not changing anything that was in the Bible. Very well done! Congrats.

admirable work

[Kirpianuscus · 17 April 2017]

the first observation - the film is magnificent pledge for define/rediscover the Bible as the most important book. not only as religious work but as the tool for discover the world. the film is adaptation of a seductive interpretation of the episode of the rape of Dinah.and this does it the good and the bad aspects. impressive cinematography, beautiful performances, the noble message with feminist flavor. against, maybe, the ordinaries sins of religious films. or the not high accuracy to the book. but it is an impressive film. and this is more than an ordinary virtue.

Worth Watching

[sugarqueen2 · 8/10 · 12 December 2014]

I would not say this is the most accurate version of events, thus earning the rating of 8. I did enjoy it, though. The performances were solid, the cast was well-chosen.

Our only problem was that we recorded this as we were not to be at home for it. Tonight I got through #1, but the #2 Red Tent was heavily pixilated and jumping throughout almost the entire program.This also included the dialog. After I struggled through #2, I went back to watching live TV. I've had no trouble with the TV reception.

The usual "fixes" for that were ineffectual. I was disappointed, as regardless of accuracy, this was an interestingly written tale.I hope I will be able to rent it sometime, so I can see the full story.

Not historical fiction

[kdshell1 · 3/10 · 27 December 2014]

This is fiction loosely occurring in a historical setting but is not historical fiction (realistically filling in blank areas but not contradicting the historical account). While The Red Tent gives a reasonable depiction of ancient life in the Middle East, it does not follow the Scriptural text (the only account of Dinah's life) and often seems to try to rewrite the Scriptural account of Jacob's family, giving little if any value to Jacob trying to lead his family to follow and worship only Almighty God and forsaking foreign idols. While it is understandable that Jacob's "wives" (2 wives and two unrelated concubines) would find it difficult to forsake their cultural religious practices (something we must all work through), scripture seems to indicate that is what they did after they had left Laban's household and traveled with Jacob. At times, it seems the plot is trying to teach anti-God religious practices as women rebelling against men's teaching about (and invention of) an Almighty God.