74
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyIt's juicy, fascinating stuff, well orchestrated by Carion and finely thesped -- especially by Kusturica.
- 80Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichDirector Christian Carion (Merry Christmas) establishes a low-key yet threatening atmosphere right from the start, and gets terrific performances from Kusturica and Canet.
- 80MovielineStephanie ZacharekMovielineStephanie ZacharekFarewell, a cold war drama by the French director Christian Carion, isn't just a movie set in 1981; in many ways it feels like a movie made in 1981.
- 80Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonWall Street JournalJohn AndersonThe source of all this information was a real-life KGB agent, Vladimir Vetrov, code named Farewell, and with the usual adjustments for drama his story gets a respectable retelling in this nervy French production.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberWhile the film is too convoluted to stir boxoffice excitement, it offers some rewards for sophisticated moviegoers
- 70The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenWhen it comes to actual historical details, Farewell crams too many notions into expositional blips of dialogue. And the scenes of conferences in the corridors of power, whether in Moscow, Paris or Washington, are strained and abrupt.
- 70Los Angeles TimesGlenn WhippLos Angeles TimesGlenn WhippFarewell offers intrigue, simmering tension.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayAs a political thriller, Christian Carion's Farewell is fairly feeble, rendering some of the oldest clichés of Cold War potboilers without much urgency or stylistic flair.
- 60Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonA homely bit of international Cold War cloak-and-dagger, starring badly dressed bureaucrats instead of chic spies, Farewell is based on a vital early-'80s espionage break involving the KGB, DST French intelligence, and the CIA.
- 60Boxoffice MagazineWade MajorBoxoffice MagazineWade MajorIt's hard to watch Farewell without thinking of such '70s classics as "All the Presidents Men" and "Network," mature dramas that Hollywood has since all but abandoned (with intermittent exceptions like The Insider).