Cohen On Cohen
In the upcoming Netflix thriller mini-series The Spy, Sasha Baron Cohen, the genius behind Borat and The Dictator, plays it very straight as Eli Cohen, the Israeli intelligence agent.
While working in military intelligence in the late 1950s, Eli Cohen became bored and decided to apply to Mossad, Israel’s version of the CIA.
Mossad told him to beat it.
A couple of years later, while going through rejected applications, Mossad’s Director stumbled on Eli’s file and the rest is history.
Eli Cohen spied in Syria 1961–1965, where he moved effortlessly in political, business and military circles, eventually becoming the Chief Adviser to the Minister of Defense.
These Arabs… no wonder they are so angry: Jews are always tricking them.
From Netflix’s official description:
THE SPY, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, is inspired by the real-life story of former notorious Mossad agent, Eli Cohen, who successfully goes undercover in Syria and ultimately changed the course of Israel’s history.
Well, that’s one way to describe it. Let me put it this way, it does not end well for Eli.
In fact, it ends just about as horribly as it can end for someone in the espionage game.
I guess those Arabs weren’t so dumb after all.
Here is the trailer:
Something Is Off About Netflix Movies
So, Eli starts confusing his real life with his undercover life. Very fresh.
I can’t put my finger on it but a lot of Netflix movies are so recycled and so full of cliches that it seems like the company is just going through the motions.
It’s like anti-drama. Maybe that’s the name of their algorithm?
The Spy wants to recruit you on September 6, 2002. Only on Netflix.
