Just about the worst thing you can call an Egyptian (or, an Arab, really) is an Israeli spy — given the atrocities inflicted upon the Palestinians.
Yet, that’s what Ashraf Marwan was, as well as an Egyptian billionaire, arms dealer and son-in-law of former Egyptian president, Gamal Abdal Nasser.
The documentary, The Spy Who Fell to Earth, based on the book by Ahron Bregman, explores Marwan’s darkly fascinating life and mysterious death — falling from the balcony of his 5th floor London apartment.
Was it an accident, suicide or murder, for betraying his country with their greatest enemy? Some even claim that Marwan was, in fact, a double agent who tricked Israel to serve Egypt!
Hard to tease out the truth when so much power, money, animosity and corruption are involved... Generally, I found the narrator of this fascinating documentary to be reliable and even endearing in his goofy way.
Shocking how young Marwan was when he began his career as a spy (just 26!) & the amount of money he received, in turn, to finance his lavish lifestyle.
Icky marriage: politics & business! Here's a quote that addresses this quandary from Thomas Paine, English-born American political activist and revolutionary:
When extraordinary power and extraordinary pay are allotted to any individual in a government, he becomes the center, round which every kind of corruption generates and forms.
You can watch the film trailer, below, which starts at the 50 seconds mark:
*** Meantime, if you find that you just can't get enough of Marwan's spell-binding story, here's another film about him, on Netflix: ***  *** 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, for those (such as myself) who whish to deep dive into this captivating tale of deception and espionage, here’s a short segment on 60 minutes: *** *** Personally, I found the documentary to be the most satisfying account, and appreciated how they resisted concluding, because the truth is that we *don’t* have all the pieces of the puzzle.
In that way, The Spy Who Fell to Earth is a complex work of art; like life & people, generally (whether they are international spies or not).