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Damascus Cover (7/10)

by Tony Medley

Runtime 93 minutes

R.

This is an acceptably tense spy thriller in which Ari Ben-Zion (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a Mossad agent, is sent by his boss, Miki (the late John Hurt) to Syria ostensibly to spirit a scientist out of the country. After he arrives, he discovers that things were not as had been explained to him and that he is in big trouble.

Directed by Daniel Zelik Berk from his script (with Samantha Newton) loosely based on the book by Howard Kaplan, there are good guys and bad guys all over the place.

After John Hurt read the original script he said he was interested in doing the film but felt that his character was unresolved at the end of the film and couldn’t consider it unless that was fixed. Berk asked him for suggestions but Hurt told him that he was the writer and if he figured out a way to fix it, to send it back to him.

So, after reconsidering the script, Berk realized that Hurt was correct and wrote a different ending, which Hurt accepted.

The film was shot in Casablanca and Israel, Casablanca standing in for Damascus. Considering this indie was shot on a $5 million budget, it’s well done with atmospheric locations shots.

 

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