Farewell (2009) ( L'affaire Farewell ) ( Fakelos Farewell (Fare well) )

Farewell (2009) (DVD) (*)

~~$56.99~~ $47.96

Original Title: L'affaire Farewell
Alternate Title: Fakelos Farewell (Fare well)
Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Russian ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 4 )

Running Time:
108 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2009 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Christian Carion

Written By:
Christian Carion
Serguei Kostine

Actors:
Diane Kruger ..... Femme jogging
Willem Dafoe ..... Feeney
Guillaume Canet ..... Pierre Froment
Fred Ward ..... Ronald Reagan
Alexandra Maria Lara ..... Jessica Froment
Emir Kusturica ..... Sergei Gregoriev
Gary Lewis ..... Hutton
David Soul ..... Vallier
Benno Fürmann ..... Natasha
Niels Arestrup ..... Alina
Ingeborga Dapkunaite ..... Agent écossais 1
Dina Korzun ..... FBI agent
Alex Ferns ..... Choukhov
Christian Sandström
Aleksey Gorbunov

Synopsis:

In the vein of The Lives Of Others and based on an incredible true story, Farewell is an espionage film about events that changed history. Directed by Christian Carion (Joyeux Noel) and starring two of Europe's respected actor/ directors Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet. In 1981, Colonel Grigoriev (Kusturica) of the KGB, disenchanted with the Communist ideal, decides he is going to change the world. Discreetly, he makes contact with Pierre (Canet), a French engineer working in Moscow and little by little passes on documents to him - mainly concerning the United States - containing information which would constitute the most important Cold War espionage operation known to date. During a period of two years, French President, Francois Mitterrand and US chief Ronald Reagan were to personally vet the documents supplied by this source in Moscow, to whom the French Secret Service gave the codename Farewell'. Farewell smuggled out information that would cause ructions that sounded the death bell of the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall would fall before the end of the 80s. In his own way, Farewell managed to change the world, by avoiding traditional espionage methods too well known to the KGB and by not asking for any financial compensation whatsoever, "much too capitalist" for his taste. He simply followed his destiny, so that a new world might dawn for his fellow Russians, but especially for his son.

An espionage agent begins working against his own country for the good of the world in this drama based on a true story. Sergei Grigoriev (Emir Kusturica) is a Soviet intelligence operative who has become deeply disillusioned with life under Communism -- while he believes in the ideals the U.S.S.R was founded upon, he feels they have been become hopelessly compromised by their current leadership, and that the old government must be brought down for the sake of future generations. With this in mind, Grigoriev strikes up a friendship with Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a French engineer who is living and working in Moscow and has no idea his new pal is a spy. Once Grigoriev has gained Froment's confidence, he begins passing classified documents along to Froment with the understanding that they will then be forwarded to French intelligence. It soon becomes clear that what Grigoriev has to share are American state secrets and classified scientific documents confirming the KGB has been digging deep into U.S. security; when the CIA finds out just how much the Russians know, it sparks an international incident and fierce reprisals against the U.S.S.R. Directed by Christian Carion, L'Affaire Farewell (aka Farewell) was based on the true story of KGB agent Vladimir Vetrov; the film also stars Fred Ward, Willem Dafoe and David Soul.

Based on true, surprisingly little-known events that hastened the downfall of the Soviet Union, Christian Carion's espionage drama, "Farewell (L'Affaire Farewell)," is a refreshing reminder in the age of the Bourne movies that spies are real people leading everyday lives. (We'll know more about that when a movie is made about the 10 Russian agents sent home this month by the United States.) The film's principal characters are portrayed by two leading European filmmakers: the Serbian director Emir Kusturica ("Underground") plays the K.G.B. colonel Sergei Grigoriev, and the French director Guillaume Canet ("Tell No One") is his French connection, Pierre Froment. Sergei is based on the real-life Vladimir Vetrov, whose code name, given to him by the French intelligence service, was "Farewell." The movie's staking out of a (sometimes shaky) middle ground between serious comedy and high-tech fantasy is a considerable accomplishment that deglamorizes spying as an occupation by making it look a little silly

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 20 December, 2010.