SYNOPSIS
The year is 1908; after centuries of unchecked power, the Ottoman empire is rapidly crumbling. As a result, Turkey’s secret agents–those that haven’t already been eliminated by downsizing or death–operate in a vacuum, their superiors knowing little and caring less about their activities. One such spy is Ben Kingsley, a minor bureaucrat of no ambition. When ordered to help disreputable English citizens Charles Dance and Helen Mirren in the theft of a precious Greek artifact, Kingsley goes along without question. He is even prepared to follow orders and double-cross Dance the moment the robbery is pulled off. But as the film progresses, Kingsley becomes less and less of a by-the-book government functionary and more and more of an enigma–to Dance, to Mirren, to his country, to himself. More than your usual “caper” film, Pascali’s Island has more layers than an artichok