Exclusive Filmmaker Letter
from Director Christian Carion

Dear Film Club Members,

Few people know of the Farewell Affair, which played such a crucial part in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

I wanted to tell this story in film, not simply because it deserves its place in public memory, but also because I felt really drawn to certain aspects of the story.

It is first and foremost a humanistic tale. One man in Moscow in 1981 decided to do something to change things, and 8 years later, everything changed.

I like when the seeming footnotes of history impact on the bigger picture and when the destiny of the world is changed as a result. In a certain sense, Farewell is an extension of my last film. While the men in Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) performed an unthinkable act which would have no real incidence on the march of history, here, in Farewell, a single individual plays a major part in changing the worldwide scheme of things...

I found the idea of inter-cutting scenes of daily life in Moscow with the atmospheres which reign in the halls of power, such as the Elysée Palace in Paris or the White House in Washington, particularly attractive. The general public is far more partial to the world of politics than we think. I wanted to show how a number of documents photographed in Moscow could bring together two men, who in theory were totally incompatible: Ronald Reagan and François Mitterrand.

Another feature of this tale is that we don't know the whole story, and probably never will. It is only fitting that an espionage affair maintains its shadow side. Read more...

Farewell Game Giveaway

Enter for a chance to own a copy of Twilight Struggle, the ultimate Cold War Strategy Board Game from GMT Games, courtesy of NeoClassics Films! The game (a $55 value) focuses on the same period in history as the gripping spy thriller Farewell, where the Soviet Union is at odds with the United States and where spy networks and secrets divulged can change the course of history. To be eligible, you must answer the following question correctly: According to the film's official web site, what was Colonel Grigoriev's real name?

PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY! Send your response via email to comments@landmarktheatres.com by Thursday, July 29, 2010. Please write "Farewell Game Giveaway" in the email subject line. Include your full name and mailing address in the body of the email. One entry per Film Club member. A limited number of Film Club members will be chosen at random from all correct entries and notified via email.

Farewell

Engaging, emotional and riveting, Farewell is an intricate and highly intelligent thriller pulled from the pages of history-about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. A piece of history largely unknown until now, Farewell begins in 1981, when U.S./Soviet relations are at their lowest point in more than a decade. A French businessman based in Moscow, Pierre Froment (French director Guillaume Canet, Tell No One), makes an unlikely connection with Grigoriev (Palme d'Or and Golden Bear winner Emir Kusturica, Underground), a senior KGB officer disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev. Grigoriev begins passing him highly sensitive information about the Soviet spy network in the U.S. Torn between the fear of putting his wife (Alexandra Maria Lara) and children in danger and the desire to know more, Froment brings the documents to the French government. Soon, the flow of information reaches the White House and brings the Soviet regime to the tipping point of collapse, forcing the KGB to escalate its search for the leak, and placing the two men and their families in extreme peril. Directed by Christian Carion, the Academy Award nominated filmmaker of Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas).

Farewell starts Friday, July 23 at The Landmark in West Los Angeles.