Oct. 23, 2017|United Kingdom|93 Min.|R
Genre: Mystery;Thriller
Description: “Damascus Cover,” a 2017 political thriller, is directed by Daniel Zelik Berk and written by Berk and Samantha Newton. The film, based on Howard Kaplan’s 1977 novel of the same name, features Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, Jürgen Prochnow, Igal Naor, Navid Negahban, and John Hurt, marking Hurt’s final film appearance before his passing. The movie premiered at the Boston Film Festival on September 23, 2017, and was later released on July 20, 2018, by Vertical Entertainment.
The story centers on Ari Ben-Zion, an undercover Israeli spy played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who assumes a fake German identity in late 1980s Berlin. After failing a mission to capture a double agent during the fall of the Berlin Wall, Ari returns to Tel Aviv under scrutiny. Determined to redeem himself, he accepts a perilous assignment in Syria, posing as a German carpet importer with neo-Nazi ties. His mission is to safely extract a chemical weapons scientist and his family from Damascus. Along the way, Ari encounters Franz Ludin, a former Nazi, and Kim, an American photojournalist who becomes romantically interested in him.
Despite its star-studded cast and Cold War backdrop, the film relies heavily on familiar espionage clichés, failing to deliver a truly gripping or innovative narrative. Its release was met with muted reception, leaving audiences neither shaken nor stirred.
Cast director: Daniel Zelik Berk
Cast actor: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, John Hurt, Jürgen Prochnow, Navid Negahban, Anas El Baz, Selva Rasalingam, Tsahi Halevi, Herzl Tobey, Ben Affan
Original name: Damascus Cover