In Select Theaters July 2010

New York and Los Angeles - July 23, 2010

 

France 2009 | Run time: 112 min.

Director: Christian Carion | Language: French - English - Russian

 

The Black Balloon Poster

In 1981, Colonel Grigoriev of the KGB (real name - Vladimir Vetrov), disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev, decides he is going to change the world…

 

Discreetly, he makes contact with a French engineer working for Thomson in Moscow and little by little passes on documents to him - mainly concerning the United States - containing information which would constitute the most important Cold War espionage operation known to date.

 

During a period of two years, French President, François Mitterrand, was to personally vet the documents supplied by this source in Moscow, to whom the French Secret Service gave the codename « Farewell ».

 

Then master of the White House, Ronald Reagan, set aside his reluctance to work with a French Socialist to put this unhoped-for information from the very heart of the KGB to use. Farewell would in fact decapitate the network which enabled the KGB to gain in-depth knowledge of scientific, industrial and military research in the West.

 

Once the USSR had been deprived of these precious sources of information, Ronald Reagan’s announcement of the new « Star Wars » military programme sounded the death bell of the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall would fall before the end of the 80s…

 

In his own way, Farewell managed to change the world, by avoiding traditional espionage methods too well known to the KGB and by not asking for any financial compensation whatsoever – much too capitalist for his taste. He simply followed his destiny, so that a new world might dawn for all his fellow Russians, but especially for his son.

 

Release Schedule and Theaters: (Click Theaters for Showtimes)

Date Theater Address City ST Zip

7/23-

7/28
1886 Broadway
New York
NY
10023

7/23-

7/28
43 East Houston Street
New York
NY
10023

7/23-

7/28
10850 West Pico at Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles
CA
55408

7/23-

7/28
673 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena
CA
91101

7/23-

7/28
17200 Ventura Blvd.
Encino
CA
91316

7/23-

7/28
3735 Alton Parkway
Irvine
CA
92606

7/30-

8/4
201 South Second Street
San Jose
CA
95113

7/30-

8/4
423 Park Ave.
Huntington
NY
11743

7/30-

8/4
272 Bedford St.
Stamford
CT
06901

7/30-

8/4
7235 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda
MD
20814

7/30-

8/4
One Embarcadero Center, Promenade Level
San Francisco
CA
94111

7/30-

8/4
2230 Shattuck Avenue
Berkley
CA
94704

7/30-

8/4
430 Emerson Street
Palo Alto
CA
94301

7/30-

8/4
1118 Fourth Street
San Rafael
CA
94901

7/30-

8/4
2828 N Clark St.
Chicago
IL
60657

7/30-

8/4
1850 Second St.
Highland Park
IL
60035

8/6-

8/11
5321 East Mockingbird Lane
Dallas
TX
75206

8/6-

8/11
One Kendall Square
Cambridge
MA
20139

8/6-

8/11
8879 Villa La Jolla Drive
La Jolla
CA
92137

8/6-

8/11
911 N.E. 50th Street at Roosevelt
Seattle
WA
98105

8/6-

8/11
3911 West 50th St.
Edina
MN
55424

8/6-

8/11
486 Bloomfield Ave.
Montclair
NJ
07042

8/6-

8/11
20 Tower Place
Roslyn
NY
11577

8/6-

8/11
2300 E Baristo Rd
Palms Springs
CA
92262

8/6-

8/11
Greenburgh Shopping Center 93 Knollwood Rd
White Planes
NY
10607

8/6-

8/11
210 Lincoln St.
Santa Cruz
CA
95060

8/13-

8/18
510 Texas Street
Houston
TX
77002

8/13-

8/18
7205 Bishop Rd.
Plano
TX
75024

8/13-

8/18
846 SW Park Ave
Portland
OR
97205

8/13-

8/18
371 Hitchcock Way
Santa Barabara
CA
93105

8/13-

8/18
111 East 300 South
Salt Lake City
UT
84105

8/20-

8/25
9828 Great Hills Trail
Charlotte
NC
28209

8/20-

8/25
2800 South Colorado Boulevard at Amherst
Denver
CO
80222

8/20-

8/25
1013 K Street
Sacremento
CA
95814

8/20-

8/25
6200 SOM Center Road
Cleveland
OH
44139

8/20-

8/25
9828 Great Hills Trail
Austin
TX
78759

8/20-

8/25
28 Amity St.
Amherst
MA
01002

8/20-

8/25
214 Walnut Street
Philadelphia
PA
91106

8/20-

8/25
4211 Waialae Ave
Honolulu
HI
96816

8/20-

8/25
1711 North Charles St.
Baltimore
MD
21201

8/27-

9/01
4135 West Maple Road at Telegraph
Bloomfield Hills
MI
48301

8/27-

9/01
4050 Pennsylvania
Kansas City
MO
64111

8/27-

9/01
711 N Franklin Street
Tampa
FL
33602

8/27-

9/01
8702 Keystone Crossing, Suite 201A
Indianapolis
IN
46204

8/27-

9/01
210 Plaza Frontenac
St. Louis
MO
63131

8/27-

9/01
2345 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E.
Atlanta
GA
30324

9/10-

9/16
562 North Guadalupe
Santa Fe
NM
87501

9/10-

9/16
603 East Liberty Street
Ann Arbor
MI
87501

9/10-

9/16
130 East Fifth Street
Dayton
OH
45402

9/10-

9/16
2102 Belcourt Avenue
Nashville
TN
37212

9/17-

9/23
616 Second Street
Davis
CA
95616

9/17-

9/23
506 Burns Ln.
Sarasota
FL
34236

 

 

 


 

To Download Press Materials (Click Here)

 

Cast & Crew

Director: Christian Carion

Producers: Christophe Rossignon, Bertrand Faivre, PHILIP BOEFFARD

Cast: WILLEM DAFOE, Guillaume Canet, EMIR KUSTURICA, ALEXANDRA MARIA LARA,

Written by: Eric Raynaud

 

 

Downloads Size File Type
Farewell Poster (Large)
723kb
JPG
Farewell Press Kit
199kb
DOC

Click selection to download and view or right click selection to save target.

 

Reviews and Quotes

 

 

NY Times Article 07/11/2010 - In the July Heat, a Cold-War Comeback - By JOHN ANDERSON

 

BackStage - The Actors Resource - FAREWELL

Reviewed by Pete Hammond - Read

 

Christian Carion live interview 07/06/2010 on WNYC Radio (NYC NPR). CLICK to Listen

 

QUOTES

 

Los Angeles
“An extraordinary but little-known episode in international espionage.” -Todd McCarthy, Variety

 

“Astonishing…like any good thriller, this is the story of deceptions within deceptions. It’s juicy, fascinating stuff.” -Todd McCarthy, Variety

 

"A harrowing, richly human and well-acted espionage tale." -Todd McCarthy, Variety

 

"It's juicy, fascinating stuff, well orchestrated, and finely thesped. Carion keeps things simmering on medium-high heat throughout.” -Todd McCarthy, Variety

 

New York

“A fantastic true story.”

-Stephen Holden, The New York Times

 

“A compelling rendition of Cold War iconography.”
-Robert Levin, AM NY

 

“Filled with the twists, turns and grand scale of epics like “Reds”…”  (optional: “…the sort Hollywood rarely makes anymore”) -Robert Levin, AM NY

 

Washigton DC

“Now that's a spy movie.”
-Jeff Stein, The Washington Post

 

UK

“Harrowing! A richly human and well-acted espionage tale.” -Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily

 

“A complex performance from Emir Kusturica…Willem Dafoe is sharp as the head of the CIA.”
-Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily

 

“The tense script is riddled with little paranoid touches which ratchet up the suspense.”
-Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily

 

“A Gallic John Le Carré”

-John Lichfield, The Independent

 

“A story of anguished heroism” -John Lichfield, The Independent

 

Online
"Deftly replicates not only the political and social climate of the cold war era, but also the filmmaking sensibilities of past espionage thrillers.”
-Robert Bell, The Trades (www.the-trades.com)

 

“Fans of old school thrillers should look no further.”
-Robert Bell, The Trades (www.the-trades.com)

 

“One of the best political thrillers in years.”
-Greg Klymkiv, Daily Film Dose (www.dailyfilmdose.com)

 

“Utterly compelling…Thrills with both subject matter and impeccable craft.” -Greg Klymkiv, Daily Film Dose (www.dailyfilmdose.com

 

“Emir Kusturica is a revelation… Ward is perfect.”
-Greg Klymkiv, Daily Film Dose (www.dailyfilmdose.com)

 

“Emir Kusturica  proves to be a formidable and charismatic presence.” -Noel Megahey, The Digital Fix (www.cinema.thedigitalfix.co.uk)

 

“Like every epic undertaking worth its salt, it balances the political with the personal.” -Anne Billson,  The Arts Desk (www.theartsdesk.com)

 

“Farewell is destined to be this year's The Lives of Others.” -Anne Billson,  The Arts Desk (www.theartsdesk.com)

 

“Carion keeps us riveted right to the very end.”
-James McNally, Toronto Screen Shots (www.torontoscreenshots.com)

 

“This smart and well-acted film deserves a wide audience.” -James McNally, Toronto Screen Shots (www.torontoscreenshots.com)

 

“A fascinating piece of true-life Cold War espionage…” -Andrew O’Hehir,(www.Salon.com)

 

INTERVIEWS

 

Reuters – story/interview with Christian Carion

 

France Amerique – Interview with Christian Carion

 

ReelRave.com – Stephen Schaefer interview with Christian Carion

 

Elle Magazine – Karen Durbin - Read

 

New York Times – Stephen Holden - Read

 

New York Daily News – Joe Neumaier - Read

 

New York Post – Vincent Musetto - Read

 

Epoch Times - Joe Bendel - Read

 

Time Out New York - Keith Uhlich - Read

 

New York Magazine – Miranda Siegel - Read

 

Wall Street Journal – John Anderson - Read

 

The New Yorker – David Denby - Read

 

Village Voice – Nick Pinkerton - Read

 

The Huffington Post – Marshall Fine - Read

 

NYC Movie Guru – Avi Offer - Read

 

 

Select High Resolution Pictures

(Click to Download)