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Farewell

Original title: L'affaire Farewell
  • 20092009
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
The French intelligence service alerts the U.S. about a Soviet spy operation during the height of the Cold War, which sets off an unfortunate chain of events.
Play trailer2:21
1 Video
17 Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance
  • Thriller
The French intelligence service alerts the U.S. about a Soviet spy operation during the height of the Cold War, which sets off an unfortunate chain of events.The French intelligence service alerts the U.S. about a Soviet spy operation during the height of the Cold War, which sets off an unfortunate chain of events.The French intelligence service alerts the U.S. about a Soviet spy operation during the height of the Cold War, which sets off an unfortunate chain of events.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Christian Carion
  • Writers
    • Christian Carion
    • Serguei Kostine(book "Bonjour Farewell")
    • Eric Raynaud
  • Stars
    • Guillaume Canet
    • Emir Kusturica
    • Alexandra Maria Lara
Top credits
  • Director
    • Christian Carion
  • Writers
    • Christian Carion
    • Serguei Kostine(book "Bonjour Farewell")
    • Eric Raynaud
  • Stars
    • Guillaume Canet
    • Emir Kusturica
    • Alexandra Maria Lara
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 71Critic reviews
    • 74Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Farewell
    Trailer 2:21
    Farewell

    Photos17

    L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Guillaume Canet and Alexandra Maria Lara in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Guillaume Canet, Alexandra Maria Lara, Timothé Riquet, and Lauriane Riquet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Ingeborga Dapkunaite in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet in L'affaire Farewell (2009)
    Emir Kusturica, Christian Carion, and Ingeborga Dapkunaite in L'affaire Farewell (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Guillaume Canet
    Guillaume Canet
    • Pierreas Pierre
    Emir Kusturica
    Emir Kusturica
    • Grigorievas Grigoriev
    Alexandra Maria Lara
    Alexandra Maria Lara
    • Jessicaas Jessica
    Ingeborga Dapkunaite
    Ingeborga Dapkunaite
    • Natashaas Natasha
    Philippe Magnan
    Philippe Magnan
    • Mitterrandas Mitterrand
    Aleksey Gorbunov
    Aleksey Gorbunov
    • Choukhovas Choukhov
    • (as Oleksii Gorbunov)
    Dina Korzun
    Dina Korzun
    • Alinaas Alina
    Niels Arestrup
    Niels Arestrup
    • Vallieras Vallier
    David Soul
    David Soul
    • Huttonas Hutton
    Fred Ward
    Fred Ward
    • Reaganas Reagan
    Willem Dafoe
    Willem Dafoe
    • Feeneyas Feeney
    Marc Berman
    • Jacquesas Jacques
    Christian Carion
    Christian Carion
    • Favieras Favier
    Evgeniy Kharlanov
    Evgeniy Kharlanov
    • Igoras Igor
    • (as Yevgeni Kharlanov)
    Lauriane Riquet
    • Ophelieas Ophelie
    Timothé Riquet
    • Damienas Damien
    • (as Timothe Riquet)
    Vsevolod Shilovskiy
    Vsevolod Shilovskiy
    • Gorbachevas Gorbachev
    • (as Vsevolod Shilovsky)
    Vladimir Tolstoy
    • Chef du KGBas Chef du KGB
    • (as Vladimir Tolsty)
    • Director
      • Christian Carion
    • Writers
      • Christian Carion
      • Serguei Kostine(book "Bonjour Farewell")
      • Eric Raynaud
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alexander Avdeev (Russian ambassador in France who became Russian Culture Minister and who had been expelled from France in 1983 because of Farewell) blocked most Russian actors to play in this movie, including Sergey Makovetskiy and Nikita Mikhalkov, because he did not want to back a movie about a Russian traitor. He also blocked authorizations to film in Moscow, while most of the plot takes place in Moscow. Christian Carion had to pretend to film a Coca Cola advertisement for the few images of the city.
    • Goofs
      In the Soviet Union, motorists would typically keep their windscreen wipers in their glove compartments for fear of having them stolen, as they were hard to come by. Yet in the movie, every single car has its wipers attached.
    • Connections
      Featured in En bonne intelligence (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Awakening
      Written by Cyril Morin

      Massive Music/Some Players

    User reviews31

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Not much suspense but authentic atmosphere
    In this film the adage "truth is stranger than fiction" is well demonstrated. The real story of Vladimir Vetrov, the KBG Colonel who leaked vital details of the Soviet spy network to the West in the early 1980's is even more bizarre that the story related here, where Colonel Sergei Gregoriev (Emir Kursturica) uses a French electronics engineer Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), resident in Moscow, to pass secrets to the French domestic intelligence agency, the DST, and on to the CIA. Sergei ruled out using the DSGT, the French external intelligence service because he was aware it had been penetrated by the KGB. As it is the story here is a little lacking in tension despite the larger than life Sergei becoming more and more reckless as the story progresses .Some of the minor parts are pure vaudeville, Fred Ward's Ronald Reagan for example. However the two principals Kursturica and Canet, both prominent film directors, completely contrasting personalities, are very convincing. The 80's cold war atmosphere is well re-created – even the credits are vaguely menacing.

    As in several recent spy stories "based on real events" the viewer is left with the impression that the West and Soviets had so thoroughly penetrated each other's security defences that they might as well have monthly meetings to hand over each other's secrets. This story does suggest that the Soviet Union was not able to keep up with Western technology, particularly in computing, and in resorting to stealing software the Soviets sowed the seeds of their downfall. In one instance the West was able to feed the Soviets with enough crook software to cripple their gas pipelines and cause a truly big explosion (without injuring a single person, apparently).

    We do get considerable insight into what motivated Sergei, if not Vetrov (who seems to have been a less admirable character). Sergei is s true believer in communism, but he also fiercely loves his son, whom he wants to inherit something worthwhile. In a way the movie is as much about a parent sacrificing themselves for the sake of their child than the old spy versus spy routine. Froment is a less interesting character, but something inside him keeps him involved with the egregious Sergei despite his own misgivings and that of his wife Jessica (a refugee from East Germany with good reason to be afraid). Perhaps it's the opportunity for an otherwise unremarkable person to do something important. Or maybe he just finds it hard to say "non" to a person as charismatic as Sergei.

    This film is not an "edge of your seat" suspense thriller but it tells an absorbing story, and is a useful reminder of the spy paranoia that prospered during the cold war.
    helpful•29
    2
    • Philby-3
    • Jul 15, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 23, 2009 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Production Notes
    • Languages
      • French
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • The Farewell Affair
    • Filming locations
      • Helsinki, Finland
    • Production companies
      • Nord-Ouest Films
      • Le Bureau
      • Pathé
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • €17,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,406,706
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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