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. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Keeping the story focused on the personal sacrifices of the two men involved [is] a smart strategy because it makes their secret correspondence even more fraught with danger.
The story of friendship and sacrifice is told in an unfussy, old-fashioned manner but director Christian Carion creates some tense moments and secures game performances...
Impressively directed and superbly written, this is a fascinating and gripping story that packs a powerful emotional punch, thanks to a pair of terrific central performances from Guillaume Canet and Emir Kusturica.
It loiters somewhere within the void of movie limbo, destined to be lost amongst all the other films where an interesting idea failed to translate onto the big screen.
By the time Carion winds to an exciting finale, as Pierre and Jessica try to get out of the Soviet Union, this Cold War drama will have already left you cold.
Modern take on the cold war spy thriller genre. Works really thanks to the odd-ball couple of Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet, plus the director has penchant for writing sentimental stories about engineers. Apparently this true story is so sensitive that no Russians were allowed to perform and the film makers
weren't allowed to film in Russia!
I guess, if you're into this sort of thing, it could be called a good movie. I don't have much to say about this one. It's...subtle? I was just proud that I recognized Emir Kusturica in something else at some point, and it was because of this film!
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