Fin de partie

I'd like to give this movie a 10 for acting and a 2 for content, because it weighs in on the side of euthanasia, with humor and sentimentality, and euthanasia is a treacherously slippery slope. Who should be more aware of what can happen when society starts ending lives deemed not worth living than the Jewish Israelis who made this movie and the Germans, of all people, who godfathered it? But to give the movie its due, it includes fine acting, including many dynamic and demanding close-ups, from Ze'ev Revach, Levana Finkelstein, and the other major players. Revach won Israel's annual Best Actor award for this role, and the angelic Finkelstein, portraying a woman with incipient Alzheimer's, was unjustly passed over for Best Actress in favor of the colorless but personally popular Dana Ivgy. The movie also won awards for its cinematography (which, it's been complained, makes sheltered housing look too attractive) and for its soundtrack.

A woman in a retirement home answers a telephone ringing in the hallway. The caller pretends to be God and asks the terminally-ill woman to continue her difficult medical treatments. "We currently don't have any vacancies," he says, referring to heaven. He adds that the woman's husband says "hello." The woman is shocked. "My husband?" she says. "I was never married." God quickly hangs up.

This is the opening scene from the Israeli comedy-drama "The Farewell Party" (NR, 1:35) and it perfectly encapsulates what the movie is – a sometimes comedic look at the very serious topic of euthanasia.

Yehezkel (Ze'ev Revach) is an old man who has several friends in a Jerusalem retirement home. As one of his friends lies in great pain and close to death, the man's wife begs Yehezkel to do something to help her husband. Yehezkel is a retired machinist. He researches and builds a euthanasia device which allows his friend to press a button and self-administer a drug that basically puts him to sleep. The old man is able to end his suffering and die with dignity. His widow is heart-broken, but grateful. What seemed like an ending, however, turns out to be only the beginning of the story for Yehezkel and his friends.

Rumors about the old man's death quickly circulate around the retirement home. Yehezkel and his co-conspirators soon find themselves facing a series of moral dilemmas regarding helping to end the suffering of others. One man threatens to call the police if the group doesn't help his terminally-ill wife in the same way that they helped the first man. As it becomes clear that this will not be the last such request, they each have to come to terms with what they've done and decide how to react to what they're now being asked. As they begin to disagree about what to do next, and the circumstances start hitting even closer to home, the decisions become more difficult, and the dilemmas more profound.

Neither the film nor its characters take this topic lightly, even though the script does have some fun with the various circumstances that present themselves. The movie's opening scene shows that Yehezkel (the voice of "God" on one end of that phone call) wants to preserve the life of his friends. Yet, out of respect for them, and probably wondering what he'd want if he were in their situation, Yehezkel and a few others choose what they see as the least terrible among some pretty terrible options. To keep the movie from being too depressing, and to make such a serious topic more palatable, the script allows us to see a little of the humor in the lives of these characters – and in some of their deaths – but with due respect.

"The Farewell Party" tells an interesting story about a controversial subject and still manages to function well as entertainment. The film is more serious than the trailer, movie poster and title imply, but most of the humor is well-done and well-placed throughout the film. The script and direction of Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon balance the comedy and drama based on what's happening in the story at any given moment and the very talented cast makes it work. Still, just a few of the movie's light-hearted moments feel a little inappropriate and a sub-plot about a secret romantic relationship between two male characters seems unnecessarily distracting, but those are relatively minor complaints. Overall, this movie entertains the audience, while encouraging each audience member to think about a very important topic and how we each feel about it. "B+"

In Jerusalem, Yehezkel (Ze'ev Revach) and Levana (Levana Finkelshtein) live in a retirement home with other elders, including their friends Max (Samuel Wolf) and Yana (Aliza Rosen). Max is terminal, using morphine to release the pain and wishes to die. Yana presses his best friend Yehezkel to kill him. After many insistences, he builds a self-euthanasia machine to finish the pain of his friend. He invites the gay veterinarian Dr. Daniel (Ilan Dar) and his partner, the anesthetist Raffi Segal (Rafi Tabor), to dose the drugs in the machine and Max kills himself. Out of the blue, there are rumors in the home about the machine and Carmon (Josef Carmon) blackmails the group to let his wife, who is also terminal and with pain, use the machine. Meanwhile, Levana shows symptoms of dementia and her daughter Noa (Hilla Surjon) and the administrator of the home, Ziva (Idit Teperson), want to transfer her to another home with facility for mentally ill elders. But Yehezkel is reluctant to let his beloved wife go to another place.

"Mita Tova", a.k.a. "The Farewell Party", is a great film about a practice that is forbidden in most countries, the euthanasia. Like abortion, many countries have laws not allowing the patients or the women decide about their bodies. "Mita Tova" gives a sensitive approach, alleviating with some jokes along the film. For example, Yehezkel playing God to Zelda (Ruth Geller) in the beginning is very funny. Or driving his car and stopped by the police officer twice. But the film is a drama and never a comedy, with outstanding performances of the veteran unknown cast. "Party", in English, has several meanings, but in Portuguese is different: For example, party (social gathering) is "festa"; party (political group) is "partido"; party (group) is "grupo". Therefore, translators must be careful since in this title, the pun does not make sense in Portuguese. Instead of translating "O Grupo de Despedida", the translator called the movie "A Festa de Despedida", which does not make any sense for the theme of the film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Festa de Despedida" ("The Farewell Party")

This movie has brought be to tears - which is extremely unusual for me.

Going through a similar process with my late father, I can say that the movie is very accurate.

Such an amazing mixture of laughter and tears. So real, and so different from the run-of-the- mill, dime-a-dozen, Hollywood films. The kind of movie that provides you with real food for thought and a long lasting impression.

I was greatly impressed by the very high quality of acting, direction, editing and cinematography, which is rare in the Israeli films landscape.

I would most definitely rate is the best movie I've seen the past year.

The Farewell Party (Hebrew: Mita Tova) (2014) Director: Tal Granit, Sharon Maymon Watched: 3/14/18 Rating: 7/10

Doctor Kevorkian with a team of five, a micro version in a Jewish retirement home. Well balanced seriousness, humor, sentimentality. Seriousness in regards to euthanasia; the elderly and the terminally ill in pain, with no easy remedy. Addresses Alzheimer's and dementia, the pain of moving one's parents to a nursing home. Also homosexuality, family, and friendships. Balances humor and serious issues well.

One of the best scenes is when Levana, who is in beginning dementia stages, forgets to dress and walks downstairs to the cafeteria; to make her feel better, that evening her friends meet her in the greenhouse, all completely naked.

Humorous but informative much needed examination of palliative care versus euthanasia. #FilmReview #Euthanasia #Homosexuality #Israeli