DER MEDICUS

(The Physician)

Germany - 2013
 

director.gif (905 bytes)Philipp Stölzl

CAST


Ben Kingsley - Ibn Sina
Tom Payne - Rob Cole
Stellan Skarsgård - Barber
Olivier Martinez - Shah Ala ad-Daula
Emma Rigby - Rebecca
Makram Khoury - Imam
Ian T. Dickenin - Father
Adam Thomas Wright - Young Rob Cole

 

 


 

SYNOPSIS

Based on the book by Noah Gordon,  the story is about one man’s passionate search for truth in the religion-dominated and superstitious world of the 11th century. A boy  named Rob Cole is left a penniless orphan in an English mining town when his mother dies of a mysterious illness. Vowing to become a physician and vanquish Death itself, he travels to Isfahan in Persia to study medicine. Finding himself in a foreign land with virtually no friends, Cole meets Barber who first mentors the boy and introduces him to medicine, among many other valuable skills. He eventually studies medicine under Ibn Sina, the philosopher-scientist known as the "doctor of all doctors."
 


button_box.gif (205 bytes)PRODUCTION NOTES/IMAGES:

June 19, 2012:  Shooting has begun on Beta Cinema's film adaptation of Noah Gordon’s international bestseller. It is being filmed in Germany and Morocco until September. Beta Cinema has sold the film to Spain, Poland and Latin America at Cannes. Negotiations are underway with several other territories. Universal Pictures International Germany holds theatrical and HV rights for German-speaking territories with Beta Cinema handling world sales.

 

button_box.gif (205 bytes)STELLAN:   "I am playing a barber/physician/surgeon/seller of potions and a big drinker of alcohol and a screwer of whores and it is a funny role."

button_box.gif (205 bytes)MOVIE STILLS:

button_box.gif (205 bytes)POSTERS:

 

button_box.gif (205 bytes)REVIEWS:

"Payne makes a decent enough leading man. But it is his supporting cast that lends gravitas to 'The Physician.' Kingsley gives Sina the solemnity you’d expect, and an urgency that his decades have taught him to keep from his master, the Shah (Olivier Martinez), a vain ruler capable of glimmers of understanding mixed with ruthless cruelty. Skarsgård’s Barber just swaggers and staggers and twinkles, all to great effect."   ...Film critic Roger Moore

"For all the effort put into re-creating the era in question, supported here by awe-inspiring visual effects work by Pixomondo, Jan Berger’s script still relies on simplistic emotional ploys and reductive characterizations to manipulate our feelings. But then, such tactics proved perfectly acceptable in such hefty period offerings as 'Braveheart' and 'Gladiator,' and 'The Physician truly is a comparable achievement."  ...Peter Debruge, Variety

"Kingsley and Skarsgård could do these roles in their sleep but certainly are awake for all of this film. Payne, meanwhile, puts his piercing, blue-green eyes to good use, even if he never quite manages to overcome Rob's somewhat plain leading-man qualities. The supporting cast is filled with people delivering strong work, including Michael Marcus and Elyas M’Barek as two student friends of Jesse’s."   ...Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter

"Both Stellan Skarsgård as the Barber and Ben Kingsley as Ibn Sina excel in their respective mentor roles. Skarsgård has a lively, enduring rapport with Payne as this scoundrel healer/”father. And Kingsley is tailor-made to play this Jewish/Persian scholar/physician/mentor."   ...Film critic Chad R. Schulz

"Amazingly enough, this is the first movie adaptation of Noah Gordons 1986 bestseller, considering that the historical drama has everything you need for a blockbuster: a lead character beset by trauma who becomes the pioneer of a new age, as well as love, betrayal and a hearty portion of sex. Screenwriter Jan Berger and director Philipp Stölzl mix these ingredients into a historical spectacle that pleads for tolerance and man’s aspiration for recognition. The Medicus proves that European movies can also offer exceptionally shot costume dramas."   ...Christopher Diekhaus, Cineman.com