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Oct. 12, 2007
Uncovering Israeli spies
New film candidly portrays the life of a Mossad agent.
BAILA LAZARUS
A new film out of Israel is triggering debate about espionage,
in a way never anticipated by its director.
The Champagne Spy, written and directed by Nadav Schirman,
takes a close look at the life of Mossad agent Ze'ev Gur Arie, an
Israeli officer who went undercover a in Egypt in the 1960s. He
was given the duty of keeping tabs on German scientists developing
weapons of mass destruction.
The documentary also focuses on Oded, who was 12 when his father
told him the truth – that he lived under the name of Wolfgang
Lotz in Cairo, working as a secret agent for the Mossad. His cover
was that of millionaire and horse-breeder who used to be a Nazi.
Oded and his mother lived together in Paris, but Lotz did not tell
his wife anything.
Using a feature-style narration, along with historical footage,
Schirman has come out with a very popular film. He spoke to the
Jewish Independent while he was a guest of the Vancouver
International Film Festival, where his film was shown.
As in other places that the film has screened, the Vancouver theatre
sold out, and Schirman was impressed that movie-goers braved the
rainy weather to see it. But he knows that people are always intrigued
about espionage topics and are interested in knowing how he got
the Mossad to trust him enough to divulge the information. However,
as interesting as Schirman knows the topic to be, he said he did
not anticipate the effect in Israel.
"In Israel, the reaction was stupendous," he said, regarding
the first screening in March for the Doc Aviv International Film
Festival, where it won the Jury Award. "It became hugely popular;
it was showing on screens there all the time." It also won
best documentary at the recent Israeli Academy Awards.
The response, Schirman explained, has not only been due to the unique
manner in which it was made, but because of the subject matter.
"It [is] the first time Mossad agents talk openly," he
said. "It is the first time the emotional and personal price
of espionage is dealt with."
According to Schirman, the whole area of espionage is considered
a taboo subject. As kids, they didn't even dream that they could
enter that world. So little has been discussed about what those
lives are like.
"There's an idolatry," he said. "This is stuff you
don't talk about. This film breaks the taboo.... You can understand
the difficulties about being a spy."
Schirman was actually invited to be a panellist at a closed screening
of the film for 400 Mossad agents. Joining him on the panel was
a Mossad psychologist in charge of evaluating agents; as well as
two other agents.
"They used the film to trigger discussion about the difficulty
of returning to a normal life after living under cover, the loneliness
of the spy on his mission, the role of the family."
These challenges, Schirman said, are different from those experienced
by army personnel returning to civilian life.
"In the army, you're yourself; as a spy, you live under cover,
so you're acting and lying 24 hours a day," he said. "And
usually the undercover people have some sort of wealth, because
power and money go together. [Imagine] returning to your two-bedroom
apartment [and] changing diapers."
In the film, after Lotz is arrested in Egypt and eventually freed,
he becomes lost in his return to Israel. Although he becomes a celebrity,
he ends up splurging with his money, trying to maintain the lifestyle
he had in Egypt. Eventually, even his own son had to lend him money.
"In the end, all the people around him were hurt," son
Oded says in the movie. "I couldn't forgive him for what he
did to mom."
Born in Israel, Schirman grew up in various parts of the world,
moving with his diplomat father. His academic background includes
a short stint in Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, when his father
was the Israeli consul general in Montreal. After doing his military
service, he decided not to return to college. Though this is the
first film he's directed and written, he has experience as a producer,
both in film and television.
The Champagne Spy is an Israeli-German co-production. Schirman
has been hired by a German production company to write a fictional
adaptation of the film. He is also planning to direct his first
feature film – The Second Life of Abraham Potz –
based on the novel by the same name.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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