Farewell

Overview

A film for those who love Arnold Schwarzenegger but not so much his take on politics, Farewell (or more precisely, L'Affaire Farewell) is a far shot from your typical American blockbuster, delivering both beauty and the brains to go with it.

The matter takes place during the Cold War: a true story of an espionage operation that altered the course of history. Sergei Gregoriev (Emir Kusturica), a disillusioned KGB colonel, decides to sell his soul to the French in an effort to bring change to his beloved Russia. For this ominous task, he chooses not an experienced spy but the humble Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a French engineer living in Moscow with his family.

This film combines thrills and tension with well-informed political and subtle emotional dimensions. There's a multitude of takes on the democracy-versus-communism debate, and not always sober ones. Canet is a far cry from Arnold, but it is precisely this quality that makes us fans. Sweet, confused, bespectacled Pierre is the perfect 'everyman', and he pulls us all the way into the action. Amateur historians will bask in the rich world that director Christian Carion (Joyeux Noel) has laboriously created. The only fault in this film's intellect is the cheap shots at American politicians, but this alternative to the usual portraits is a guilty pleasure that feels right.