Film: Farewell | reviews, news & interviews
Film: Farewell
Film: Farewell
Cold War thriller with grip of iron
Saturday, 26 September 2009
The trailer for Farewell - released in Paris this week - was so dull I nearly didn't bother to go and see the film. The problem with selling Cold War thrillers to the masses is that realistic spy movies have little truck with trailer-friendly stunts, explosions and one-liners. But as any reader of Le Carré knows, the world of espionage is a world of smoke and mirrors, where no-one is who they appear to be, and where cynicism and expediency rub shoulders with slow-burning paranoia. In the right hands, these ingredients can have you on the edge of your seat, and fortunately for us, the hands of French writer-director Christian Carion are as safe as they come.
The trailer for Farewell - released in Paris this week - was so dull I nearly didn't bother to go and see the film. The problem with selling Cold War thrillers to the masses is that realistic spy movies have little truck with trailer-friendly stunts, explosions and one-liners. But as any reader of Le Carré knows, the world of espionage is a world of smoke and mirrors, where no-one is who they appear to be, and where cynicism and expediency rub shoulders with slow-burning paranoia. In the right hands, these ingredients can have you on the edge of your seat, and fortunately for us, the hands of French writer-director Christian Carion are as safe as they come.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
Best of 2024: Film
theartsdesk's movie critics pick their favourites from the last 12 months
Best of 2024: Blu-ray
The pick of the year's releases: films spanning decades, continents and genres
Nosferatu review - Lily-Rose Depp stands out in uneven horror remake
Robert Eggers leaves his mark on adaptation of classic, but it’s not always for the best
Blu-ray: Hitchcock - The Beginning
A box set shows how Alfred Hitchcock embraced the sound revolution – pathologies intact
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl review - an old foe returns
Stop-motion animation on an epic scale
Blu-ray: Three Wishes for Cinderella
Witty, engaging Czech fairy tale with an appealingly feisty heroine
Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes review - a Hollywood legend, warts and all
A documentary portrait of Bogie toes the official line but still does him justice
Sujo review - cartels through another lens
A surprisingly subtle narco pic from Mexico
Queer review - Daniel Craig meets William Burroughs
Luca Guadagnino's film is crazy but it just might work
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review - a middling return to Middle-earth
JRR Tolkien gets the anime treatment
The Commander review - the good Italian
Chivalrous valour at sea from a real World War Two hero
Nocturnes review - the sounds of the rainforest transport you a remote region of the Himalayas
Mansi spends her nights counting moths in North East India
Add comment