The Farewell Party (2015)

Better Late Then Never

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It's not your everyday hero VS villain type of film, it's different, and it's probably not for everyone. It's hard to watch, both because of the delicate nature of the subject it's about and because most of the characters are hard to fall for, but once you manage to ignore it, you're in for a treat.It touches some of the ugliest parts of one of the ugliest topics in our lives, that is getting old, and manage to do it with creativity and lightheartedness that I didn't expect. It made me sad and happy, all at the same time, and if you're into this sort of films, you won't regret watching it.The directing was awesome, the cameraman as well. Also great performances by Aliza Rozen and Ze'ev Revach. Sorry for English mistakes.

"The Farewell Party" starts as a tragi-comedy in a retirement pension where the question of euthanasia is first raised then addressed. As the movie progresses the tragic dimension becomes more and more apparent, as minds and bodies decay, requests for a dignified death grow and "survivors" are left sadder. This is no trifle matter: euthanasia raises serious debates in many countries, even where it is already partly legal. How do we treat our elderly? By the way, how long was it since we last saw a movie where all main characters are aged? If only for this, "The Farewell Party" stands out, but it delivers much more.*** WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS ***In terms of content, it deals with many themes: life, old age, illness, euthanasia, justice, death, dementia, friendship, love, homosexuality. All these are quite beautifully and efficiently addressed. For instance after the main character affected by dementia walks into the dining hall just with her night gown on, she is depressed by her mistake. Her friends then have her come over to the greenhouse… where they are naked, to cheer her up and show her that exhibiting one's body is not an issue. They drink and laugh together, naked in the night. What better demonstration of friendship could there be?In terms of form, the movie smartly, maybe too smartly, triggers contradictory emotions. Notably, we are constantly hesitating to cry or smile, especially when we expect it less. For instance an old lady is about to die secretly… then we hear a group of friends singing loudly outside her window, to the great surprise of the "euthanasists". At last they can proceed with their task… but their device crashes, blowing all lights out! They are obliged to leave the old lady grumbling, which is at the same time happy news (she is still alive) and tragic (she still wants to die).Another aspect of contrasting emotions is when we are expecting something… and something else happens, not completely different, but sort of on the side. When a policeman stops the main characters' car after they perform their first illegal euthanasia, we think "Oh no, this is really cliché, he is just stopping them for speeding"… but they manage to get out of this in a special way which is sad and somewhat comical at the same time (enough with spoilers). And when he stops them for a second time later on, we think "Oh no, not again"… but then the scene is quite different, more on the frightening side even though it ends well (too long to detail).In summary, the main strength of "The Farewell Party" is to succeed treating almost as a comedy some very serious and even tragic aspects of life. It also progresses very efficiently throughout all the stages of the characters' dilemmas and actions: the decisions, the preparation, the first time, the never-again, the but-we-have-to, the moral issues, the group conflicts, the suspense, etc. Most of the action occurs in the pension but at no time does it feel long or useless.Characters are attaching, complex and sometimes double-sided. An old man regularly calls an old lady to have her believe he is God so she feels better… but does she really believe this or does she pretend to, ironically in order to please the old man? One of the members of the "euthanasia squad" who apparently has high values is actually being paid for the "job". The main character who rejects euthanasia will in the end ask this for herself. Acting is absolutely outstanding; I know this is a standard comment about many movies, but here it truly is impressive how all actors manage to show their emotions and bodies, while at the same time remaining most decent.However, one of the main drawbacks of the movie is the luxury of the pension, which does not acknowledge that many elderly end their lives in poorer conditions. Granted, I don't know how pensions are in Israel where the action takes place, but the topics of the movie can be considered as universal and hence probably should have been depicted in a more realistic way. Maybe the directors wanted to avoid making a "social" movie in order to focus more on other themes, or wanted to limit dramatic elements?Despite this minor downside, "The Farewell Party" is outstanding by many aspects, some of which I briefly described above. Perhaps the most poignant parts are the videos recorded by the elderly on their deathbed. In this regard, the last scene is certainly the saddest of the movie and probably one of the saddest of film history: what do we get from life, what does our existence boil down to, what are we left with in the end just before departing from this world? At best, a small kiss from the person we love.

The Israeli movie Mita Tova was shown in the U.S. with the title The Farewell Party (2014). It was co-written and co-directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon. It's described as a drama/comedy, but it's not very funny.I like the concept of the movie--a group of older people in a retirement home are brought together to help members of their group who are suffering. Can they technically manage euthanasia? What are the ethical and moral implications? What are the legal implications?The most difficult situation does not involve physical pain. Levana, played by Levana Finkelstein, is a beautiful, intelligent woman who is showing signs of dementia. She's astute enough, in her lucid moments, to understand what's happening to her. What is the wisest answer to her terrible problem?The directors made a brilliant casting decision when they chose Ms. Finkelstein as the actor to play Levana. We tend to think of patients with dementia as being very old, with disheveled hair and clothing. Finkelstein does not conform to this stereotype. She is youthful, attractive, and stylish. We realize that this woman had a reasonable expectation of many more years of happiness. Sadly, that expectation will not be fulfilled. It's tragic.I found the comic portion of the movie to be problematic. Certainly, you can have comic interludes in a tragedy. However, I don't believe directors Granit and Maymon succeeded in making the comedy work. To me, this was a drama, and I think viewers should approach it as a drama. If you enjoy the comic aspects of the movie, all the better.We saw this film at Rochester's Little Theatre, as part of the fabulous Rochester International Film Festival. It will work very well on a small screen.

The Farewell Party was probably the funniest film at this year's Palm Springs film festival. It had to be. It's about euthanasia. By making it equal parts farewell and party the comedy made the sombre reality bearable.In an Israeli retirement home a modest inventor Yeheskel devises a machine to add a mortal combination to a hopeless patient's IV. The delicate operation is done by a heavy combination of gears and chains that looks like it would raise a drawbridge. That's a comic paradox akin to "mercy killing." He makes it for his old friend Max, who begs for release. The only doctor who will help is a vet, another resident.Yeheskel and his accomplices do not take their enterprise lightly. At every step it's a battle of conscience, to determine whether they're taking a life or saving it. It's a fight between the law and justice. When the home's administrator scolds them for an indecorous generosity, her piercing, personalized insults make their justice superior to her law. They're also supported by an incidental news report, which features the daily traffic mortality count — an unsolved problem larger than mercy killing — and the story of an 80-year-old man who with no other alternative killed his suffering wife then himself.Yeheskel's wife Levana is at first the most strenuously opposed to the death machine. But as she slips into humiliating dementia she comes to crave it herself. At the first sign of that Yeheskel destroys his machine. He won't use it on her. Or rather, for her. Then he remembers serving his beloved's needs should trump his own, so he rebuilds it to let her die in comfort and dignity.The framing story of one Zelda provides the religious context. In the first scene she gets ostensible phone calls from God, advising her to continue her treatments because there's not yet a vacancy in heaven. At the end she lets on that she knew it was Yeheskel all along. When she gets his treatment it's interrupted twice by power failures. She takes that as a sign from God and resolves to live on. Thus we contrive a higher power to direct us, i.e., to let us do what we want.Even these modest saints remain human, too. The vet's lover — who literally comes out of the closet — is venal enough secretly to collect a fee for the service. He's banished from the group and the affair.When Yeheskel gives his Levana the last "duckie kiss," it's what he gives his granddaughter. The characters' playfulness expresses their essential childishness, a vestigial joy and innocence. As Levana tells the administrator, "Their bodies are old but they're still children inside." To their credit. Retired from work and responsibility they're free to be young again however they can. That's the last joy in life. So, too, the old veterinarian is still trying to find a way to tell his mother he's gay.The fall setting outside reminds us that death is just a part of the natural cycle. That continuity also impels the musical interlude where the dead join the living to sing about Neverland.This marvellous film is required viewing for governments considering regulations to allow for assisted suicides. They all should be. .