Full of fine performances, led by Josef Bierbichler as Brecht and Monica Bleibtreu as Helene Weigel, his wife. Taken on its own terms, The Farewell makes for rewarding viewing.
Edward Klosinski's staid cinematography lends the film a feeling of late summer languor, a deceptive calm before a terrible storm. The spare, evocative piano soundtrack is by John Cale.
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Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
Marvelously grizzled and tender, Josef Bierbichler's Brecht wheezes and grumbles through it all.
Extremely well acted. But as frequently as The Farewell touches on politics, it is essentially an excoriating (and sometimes grimly amusing) domestic drama of a latter-day king and his concubines.