The Devil's Double

Baghdad 1987. A time when Iraq’s capital was a favourite stomping ground for the rich and beautiful people of the Middle East – as well as dubious businessmen. This is a place where you can buy anything you want. It’s also a place where everything has its price. Iraq is a breeding ground for corruption and fraud. Someone who knows better than anyone how to make use of such things is Uday Hussein, the oldest son of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Uday is in the habit of taking anything that might appeal to him – be it your house, your Ferrari, your wife or your daughter. No matter what it is, nobody in Iraq dares to refuse Uday Hussein anything. Naturally, his behaviour earns him plenty of enemies – including those who’d like to do away with him for good. In order to reduce this risk, he decides to use a double. He chooses Latif Yahia, a former schoolmate. An officer in the Iraqi army, Yahia initially turns down Uday’s request – but the dictator’s son has no qualms about forcing Latif to do his bidding.
After weeks of training that includes having to practise a speech impediment, Latif begins to share the ‘black prince’s’ life. Before long he becomes acquainted with the lifestyle of the most feared man in the land – a constant round of extravagance, fast cars, inexhaustible financial resources, beautiful women and loose girls. He also becomes acquainted with his crimes. Try as he might, Latif finds it impossible to extricate himself from this evil spell. But then, during the Gulf War of 1991, Uday Hussein decides to drop his doppelgänger – with fatal consequences for his double …
by Lee Tamahori
with Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier
Belgium 2010 108’

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