The Impossible Spy: Collector's Edition

In 1959, Tel Aviv accountant Elie Cohen (John Shea), a Jew of Syrian ethnicity born and raised in Egypt, is identified by Mossad agents as an ideal candidate to be an Israeli spy. Taking orders from the devious, enigmatic Yacov (Eli Wallach), Cohen is set up in Syria as a wealthy textile merchant, whose large financial contributions to the rising Baath party make him a favorite of the party's leader, General Haled (Sasson Gabai). Eli is assigned the dangerous task of learning the locations of heavy artillery placed along the Golan Heights (then controlled by Syria). Produced by the BBC and later sold to HBO, on which it premiered in 1987, The Impossible Spy originally failed to arouse much interest. Viewed today, however, in the wake of such films as Steven Spielberg's Munich and Stephen Gaghan's Syriana, this film from director Jim Goddard—who came to this project off the disastrous Sean Penn/Madonna vehicle Shanghai Surprise—seems to achieve the right tone, while resisting the temptation to caricature the Syrian villains (or idolize the Mossad, Israel's equivalent of our CIA, which comes in for some thinly veiled criticism). Unfortunately, the film's pacing is a bit uneven and the suspense lags at times. DVD extras include an Arab-Israeli conflict timeline, reviews, and a photo gallery. Given the renewed interest in the Middle East, this is worth picking up. (E. Hulse)