The Spy

Great espionage 6-piece despite how frustrating both sides of the lake have been over the years. Cohen has finally landed a role that suits him to the dot, pity he wasn't cast for Freddy Mercury, I suppose his age was a serious factor. The series has very tense scenes at times, some tolerable melodrama here and there, overall a must watch if you are not easily insulted by the ongoing conflict from either side of the border.

That is fabuluous initiation into a dramatic role of Sacha B.Cohen. Very organic immersion into character.

Worse to see!

The series is about an israel spy Eli Cohen who is on a mission in Syria. The story telling is done in a neat manner which involves covering all aspects of a spy's life. Not like most of the spy flicks, this one is also a beautiful love story. Baron Sacha Cohen has been spot on in his another role of playing an Arab, this time an intense one . Another mention would be of Hadar Ratzon. Oh! How beautiful was she in playing spy's wife. The contradiction between the life of Cohen & Thaabeth experienced in the shopping mall scene touches you to the core. Life, then and now for a spy may be different in the challenges they face, but the biggest cost is paid by the family. The Spy carries every emotion together of fear,anger,love and creates a spectacular piece for all.

I was not aware of the story about Eli Cohen so this series was interesting on a historical point of view and I learnt stuff. I didn't have any bias towards one side or the other before starting and I don't think either side comes out of it better or worse than the other as the story telling makes you at times feel sorry for some of the Syrian characters and annoyed at some of the Israeli ones, and vice versa. At times I thought the mentions of Saddam Hussein, Arafat or Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden may be gratuitous but it turns out not really. The latter in particular was really involved in the project.

All in all the costumes, sets, props and acting were good and convicing. Both Sacha Baron Cohen and Hadar Ratzon Rotem did a great job at their respective roles. The only actor I had a bit of an issue with was Alexander Siddig who plays Suidani and comes across almost like the Terminator, glaring seriously in every scene and looking obviously suspicious of Eli (even the worst spy would have noticed).

Extremely well made, nuances of Israeli society in 1960s/Syrian cities in 60s well taken care of. Brilliant acting, Brilliant performance.