Pascali's island

For more than twenty years Basil Pascali (Ben Kingsley) has been a government spy on a Greek island in the Aegean reporting back to Constantinople. By 1908 he is accustomed to the lack of response on his reports and the monthly payment which has remained the same. Upon the arrival of an Englishman, Anthony Bowles (Charles Dance), who claims to be an archaeologist, he is quick to offer his services as an interpreter and negotiates a temporary lease on an area of land on the island. Pascali’s second mistake is to introduce the Englishman to Lydia (Helen Mirren), a Viennese painter for whom he nurses an unrequited passion and watches helplessly as they begin a passionate affair. When, by chance Bowles discovers a priceless statue, he invites Pascali to share in his joy, but the offer of genuine friendship goes unnoticed by the ever suspicious Pascali. This event leads to a betrayal that destroys his only chance of escaping the island. Based on the novel by Barry Unsworth.