The Seventh Coin is a 1993

1993 in film

The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...

 independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

 starring Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole

Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...

 and directed by Dror Soref

Dror Soref

Dror Soref is a filmmaker who started his career directing music videos for a young "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1983, shortly after attending USC Film School. Soref later directed Platinum Blonde, an inspirational short film that landed him a Housekeeping Deal at Paramount Studios...

.

Production

The film is filmed in Jerusalem, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

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

Plot

Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole

Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...

 is Emil Saber, a retired British soldier and collector of ancient coins and Biblical artifacts. To complete his collection of king Herod's coins, Emils travels to Jersalem to seek out the seventh and final one. In his search for the coin, Emil beings 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

Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...

, writing for The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, 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

Philadelphia Film Festival

The Philadelphia Film Festival is held annually in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Until 2009 it was generally held during the first weeks of April....

and the Silver Awards at Worldfest Houston.