The Angel (2018 American film)

The Angel is an Israeli-American spy thriller film directed by Ariel Vromen and starring Marwan Kenzari and Toby Kebbell among others. It is an adaptation of the non-fiction book titled The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel and written by Uri Bar-Joseph and translated by David Hazony.

Cast

 * Marwan Kenzari as Ashraf Marwan
 * Toby Kebbell as Danny Ben Aroya
 * Sasson Gabai as Anwar Sadat
 * Waleed Zuaiter as Gamal Abdel Nasser
 * Miki Leon as Judah Hornstein
 * Ori Pfeffer as Zvi Zamir
 * Maisa Abd Elhadi as Mona Marwan
 * Hannah Ware as Diana Ellis
 * Sapir Azulay as Souad
 * Tsahi Halevi as Gadaffi
 * Mali Levi as Natalie Ben Aroya
 * Slimane Dazi as Sami Sharaf
 * Guy Adler as Gideon Vromen
 * Mickey Leon as Judah Hornstein

Plot
The film highlights the story of an Egyptian spy Ashraf Marwan, a confidant of President Anwar Sadat, turning into a spy for Israel. Ashraf Marwan was the son-in-law of Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser, but later became Sadat’s (Nasser’s successor) helping hand. One day in 1960s, he telephoned the Israeli embassy from a London’s telephone booth to offer his services as a spy. The Mossad enlisted his services and Marwan began passing vital information to Israel. He warned the Mossad about the planned Arab surprise attack that started the Yom Kippur War in 1973, preventing what could have resulted in a huge number of Israeli casualties.

Production
On May 5, 2017, it was announced that Marwan Kenzari was set to star in The Angel for director Ariel Vromen from a screenplay by David Arata with Netflix releasing the film.

The film began production in early July 2017 in London, England and also shot in the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and Morocco. The rest of the cast was confirmed on July 25, 2017 with the film in principal production.

Release
The film is scheduled to be released on September 14, 2018, although originally it was scheduled for June 15, 2018.

Critical response
A number of Egyptians criticized the film on social media, dismissing the film as Israeli propaganda and denouncing Vromen’s casting of an Israeli actor to portray Anwar Sadat.