Damascus Cover

{{Infobox film

| name = Damascus Cover

| image = Damascus Cover.png

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Daniel Zelik Berk

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Huw Penallt Jones
Hannah Leader
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Joe Thomas

}}

| writer = {{Plainlist|

Daniel Zelk Berk
Samantha Newton

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = Harry Escott

| cinematography = Chloë Thomson

| editing = Martin Brinkler

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Xeitgeist Entertainment Group
Marcys Holdings
BBM

}}

| distributor = Vertical Entertainment

| released = {{Film date|2017|9|23|Boston|2018|7|20|United States}}

| runtime = 93 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

United States
United Kingdom

}}

| language =

| budget =

| gross = $19,532{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3457508/ |title=Damascus Cover (2017) |publisher= Box Office Mojo |accessdate= July 1, 2022}}

}}

Damascus Cover is a 2017 political thriller film, directed by Daniel Zelik Berk, from a screenplay by Berk and Samantha Newton. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Howard Kaplan. It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, Jürgen Prochnow, Igal Naor, Navid Negahban and John Hurt. This was Hurt's final film appearance before his death; the film was dedicated to his memory.

The film had its world premiere at the Boston Film Festival on September 23, 2017. It was released on July 20, 2018, by Vertical Entertainment. The film received negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Ari Ben-Sion, an Israeli spy posing as a German businessman named Hans Hoffmann in 1989 Berlin, receives orders to travel to Damascus to help a Jewish family escape the country. During his mission, he encounters Kim Johnson, an attractive American photojournalist, and begins a relationship with her. Soon, however, he realizes that the local security services are aware of his true identity as an Israeli spy and are monitoring him closely, leaving him uncertain as to why he hasn’t been eliminated.

As a series of unexpected twists unfold, Ben-Sion discovers that his real mission is to help exfiltrate a senior Israeli agent known only as "The Angel" from Syria. He then learns that the mission’s true aim is to discredit Suleiman Sarraj, the ruthless head of the Syrian secret service. Shockingly, Ben-Sion finds out that Kim is, in fact, a spy and assassin working under Sarraj's orders.

Determined to complete his mission, Ben-Sion presses on with The Angel's exfiltration plan, bringing Kim along. She assists him in eliminating several Syrian agents, convincing Ben-Sion that she, like him, has grown weary of deception and violence. However, when they reach the rendezvous point, The Angel, who has long known of Kim's allegiance to the Syrians, is horrified to see her. Just as Syrian forces close in on them, Kim denies alerting them, but The Angel, mistrustful, shoots her dead. Ben-Sion holds off the approaching Syrians, buying time for The Angel to escape, before he is ultimately captured.

In a final twist, it is revealed that General Fuad, Sarraj's professional rival, is the true Angel. He orchestrated the escape of the 'false' Angel as part of a scheme to ruin Sarraj’s career. After explaining this to Ben-Sion, General Fuad arranged a prisoner exchange, trading Ben-Sion for several Syrians held in Israeli custody.

Cast

{{castlist|

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Ari Ben-Sion / Hans Hoffmann
Olivia Thirlby as Kim Johnson
John Hurt as Miki
Jürgen Prochnow as Franz Ludin
Navid Negahban as Suleiman Sarraj
Wolf Kahler as Colonel Ludwig Streicher
Igal Naor as General Fuad
Selva Rasalingam as Sabri
Neta Riskin as Yael
Tsahi Halevi as Rami Elon
Ben Affan as Mustapha
Herzl Tobey as Ehud
Aki Avni as Shaul
Hassani Shapi as Syrian Trade Minister
Shani Aviv as Rachel

}}

Production

In February 2015, it was announced Jonathan Rhys Meyers, John Hurt, Olivia Thirlby, Igal Naor, Jürgen Prochnow, and Navid Negahban joined the cast of the film, with Daniel Zelik Berk directing from a screenplay he wrote alongside Samantha Newton, from the novel of the same name by Howard Kaplan. Hannah Leader will serve as a producer on the film.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2015/02/jonathan-rhys-meyers-cast-damascus-cover-john-hurt-1201365054/ |title=Jonathan Rhys Meyers To Topline Moroccan-Set 'Damascus Cover' |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Business Media |first=David |last=Robb |date=February 2, 2015 |access-date=June 20, 2018 }}

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Boston Film Festival on September 23, 2017.{{cite web |url=https://bostonfilmfestival.ticketleap.com/damascus-cover/ |title=Damascus Cover|work=33rd Boston Film Festival|publisher=Ticketleap|access-date=June 19, 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2017/09/final-john-hurt-film-damascus-cover-tops-33rd-boston-film-festival-with-six-awards-1202179196/ |title=Final John Hurt Film, 'Damascus Cover', Tops Boston Film Fest With Six Awards|first=Bruce|last=Haring|date=29 September 2017|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|access-date=9 April 2018}} Shortly after, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2017/11/vertical-entertainment-damascus-cover-jonathan-rhys-meyers-afm-1202201549/ |title=Vertical Entertainment Nabs Spy Thriller 'Damascus Cover' Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers — AFM

|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|first=Amanda|last=N'Duka|date=November 3, 2017|access-date=June 20, 2018}} The film was released on July 20, 2018.{{cite web |url=http://www.firstshowing.net/2018/first-trailer-for-damascus-cover-with-jonathan-rhys-meyers-as-a-spy/ |title=First Trailer for 'Damascus Cover' with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a Spy|website=First Showing|first=Alex|last=Billington|date=June 8, 2018|access-date=June 20, 2018}}

Reception

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|14|4.2|22|Damascus Cover is essentially every bit the hackneyed espionage drama that any veteran of '90s action thrillers might expect after reading its title.|ref=yes|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}} Metacritic gives it a weighted average score of 36 out of 100 based on reviews from 8 critics.{{cite web |title=Damascus Cover |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/damascus-cover |website=Metacritic |access-date=2021-09-11 }}