In the high-stakes world of arms dealing, Anatole Zsa-Zsa Korda (Benicio Del Toro) is a name that commands both fear and fascination. Known as “Mr. Five Percent” for his cunning business practices, Zsa-Zsa’s life is a whirlwind of shady deals, tax evasion, profiteering, and bribery. His empire, built on the edge of legality, has made him a target for governments and assassins alike. The Phoenician Scheme, a thrilling narrative of deception, family ties, and personal transformation, unfolds as Zsa-Zsa navigates a world determined to bring him down.
The story begins in 1950, high above the Balkan Flatlands, where Zsa-Zsa’s private plane is rocked by an explosion that kills his assistant and tears a hole in the aircraft. In a daring move, Zsa-Zsa ejects the pilot (Stephen Park) after a heated argument and crash-lands the plane in a cornfield. Presumed dead, he emerges alive in front of a news crew, but not before a fleeting vision of the afterlife where he faces judgment from mysterious figures. This sets the tone for a story where mortality and morality are constantly at odds.
A secret organization, led by the enigmatic Excalibur (Rupert Friend), is determined to dismantle Zsa-Zsa’s empire. They track his every move, raising the price of critical materials like bashable rivets to disrupt his plans. Meanwhile, Zsa-Zsa returns home to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a nun who harbors resentment for her father’s absence and the rumors that he murdered her mother. Despite her reluctance, Liesl joins Zsa-Zsa’s venture, alongside Bjorn (Michael Cera), a Norwegian tutor turned administrative assistant who passes a polygraph test to prove his loyalty. Together, they set out to execute “The Phoenician Scheme,” a audacious plan to dominate businesses in Phoenicia using slave labor, meticulously documented in Zsa-Zsa’s collection of shoeboxes.
Zsa-Zsa, Liesl, and Bjorn travel to a train tunnel to meet with financiers Leland (Tom Hanks) and Reagan (Bryan Cranston), who are furious about Zsa-Zsa tampering with their contract. To settle the dispute, Zsa-Zsa challenges them to a game of H-O-R-S-E, teaming up with Prince Farouk (Riz Ahmed), an unlikely basketball novice. As Liesl tries beer for the first time and senses Bjorn’s growing affection, Farouk clinches the game, securing the deal. The group narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by gunmen, saved by Farouk’s bodyguard.
In another surreal afterlife vision, Zsa-Zsa is confronted by his three wives, one of whom claims Liesl is not his daughter. The trio’s next stop is a nightclub owned by Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric), who resists Zsa-Zsa’s blackmail attempt to cover a financial gap. A robbery by a guerilla unit led by Sergio (Richard Ayoade) interrupts their meeting, and Zsa-Zsa takes a bullet meant for Bob, slowed by cash stuffed in his pocket. Grateful, Bob agrees to help. Later, during a blood transfusion with conspirator Marty (Jeffrey Wright), Zsa-Zsa admits partial responsibility for Liesl’s mother’s death, revealing he provoked his brother Nubar (Benedict Cumberbatch) into murder by exposing her affairs. Liesl, enraged but determined to bring Nubar to justice, continues the mission.
Zsa-Zsa proposes marriage to his second cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson) to secure her stake in the family fortune. Though hesitant, Hilda agrees but refuses to cover the financial gap. On their next flight, the pilot is poisoned, and a fighter jet threatens to shoot them down. The plane crashes, revealing Bjorn as Agent Carson, an American spy working for Excalibur. Torn by his love for Liesl, Bjorn switches sides, saving Zsa-Zsa from quicksand after a tense confrontation. In another afterlife vision, Zsa-Zsa speaks with God (Bill Murray), reflecting on his fractured life.
Camped in the forest, Zsa-Zsa, Liesl, and Bjorn bond over their troubled pasts, revealing the roots of Zsa-Zsa’s emotional distance from his family. Liesl, longing to return to the church, is later dismissed from the convent by Mother Superior (Hope Davis), who believes her path lies elsewhere. Captured by Sergio’s group, they return home to prepare for the final stage of The Phoenician Scheme at the Desert Palace Hotel.
Shoebox #4: Uncle Nubar and the Korda Reliquary
In a tense meeting with Nubar, Zsa-Zsa dodges another assassin who takes cyanide before capture. Nubar denies being Liesl’s father but confirms her mother’s affair with an assistant, suggesting he was her real father. Zsa-Zsa, determined to reform, decides to cover the financial gap himself, even if it bankrupts him. Nubar admits to orchestrating assassination attempts on Zsa-Zsa, leading to a violent clash. Nubar, poisoned by his own capsule, dies in an explosion with a grenade atop a model of the Korda dam. In a final afterlife vision, Liesl accepts Zsa-Zsa as her father.
With his empire dismantled, Zsa-Zsa and Liesl open a small restaurant, finding peace in simplicity. Liesl’s brothers receive the love they were denied, while Bjorn, now a schoolteacher, proposes to Liesl with Hilda’s annulled ring. As the workday ends, Zsa-Zsa and Liesl play cards, their bond a testament to redemption and forgiveness.
The Phoenician Scheme is a gripping saga of betrayal, survival, and transformation, where a man’s empire crumbles to reveal the heart of a father seeking redemption[wide].
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