The Farewell Party

I laughed, I cried, I loved this film.

Old people in a retirement home face illness and dementia every day. When the wife of a very sick friend tells the patent inventor Yehezkel that her husband is desperate to die and end the pain, Yehezkel builds an appropriate machine.

The emotional and the moral aspects of helping with self-euthanasia come up. It's always subtle, or really painful, or funny-and the narrative is never longer than it should.

There's even a scene with a song-and it is subversive and moving-brings Almodovar to mind.

Great acting of everyone.

There are some glitches in the Portuguese subtitles, but maybe not in English-and either way, it's not that bad.

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

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.

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.