Farewell

France 2009, 113 minutes
Dir. Christian Carion
In French, English, Russian with English subtitles
Rating: [M]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Suspense/Crime / Spy

Feat. Guillaume Canet, Emir Kusturica, Gary Lewis, Fred Ward, Willem Dafoe, Alexandra Maria Lara, Niels Arestrup, Dina Korzun, David Soul, Diane Kruger

Aroview: This riveting Cold War yarn from the dir. of JOYEUX NOEL brings to light the little-known true story of a disillusioned KGB colonel (played by Balkan director Emir Kusturica) determined to help bring down the system by leaking Soviet intelligence to the West through a French civilian.

Suspenseful, but never overheated, this is a top-notch espionage thriller in the classical mold of a John Le Carre novel, aided by an excellent score by Clint Mansell among some fondly-chosen Anglo-pop of the era. A bonus to see cult actor Fred Ward cast as Ronald Reagan!

NZ International Film Festival 2010