''The Seventh Coin'' is a 1993

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

directed by

Dror Soref Dror Soref (Hebrew: דרור סורף) is a filmmaker and social reformer who made his directorial debut with the I Love Rocky Road music video for a then unknown "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1983, after attending USC School of Cinema. Soref later ...

and starring

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

Production

The film is filmed in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and with the help of Paramount, ''The Seventh Coin'' became Soref's debut as a feature film writer/director.

Plot

is Emil Saber, a retired British soldier and collector of ancient coins and Biblical artifacts. To complete his collection of king Herod's coins, Emil travels to Jerusalem to seek out the seventh and final one. In his search for the coin, Emil begins to lose his mind and eventually believes that he is the reincarnated Herod himself. This does not go well for two teenagers who possess the coin, American tourist Ronnie and Arab pickpocket Salim. As Emil continues on his murderous rampage, the teenagers must avoid him while also protecting the coin.

Reception

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', described ''The Seventh Coin'' as having "plenty of snazzy local color but no idea what kind of film it wants to be". The film won two festival awards including Best First Time Director at the

Philadelphia Film Festival The Philadelphia Film Festival is a film festival founded by the Philadelphia Film Society held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual festival is held at various theater venues throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area. Overview The annual f ...

and the Silver Awards at Worldfest Houston.

References

External links

* * * 1993 films American independent films Israeli independent films English-language Israeli films 1990s English-language films 1990s adventure films Films set in Jerusalem Treasure hunt films 1993 directorial debut films 1993 independent films 1990s American films {{indie-film-stub