Farewell review

Two secret agents form a surprising friendship in this tense Cold War thriller

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Like Salt or Bourne given a character-study makeover, Christian Carion’s spy thriller spotlights a true story from 1981 that helped thaw the Cold War.

Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica plays Sergei, codename ‘Farewell’, a KGB agent slipping Soviet secrets to the West via his French contact (Guillaume Canet); their frayed family lives and friendship anchor the film.

Superpower sequences (Fred Ward as Ronald Reagan) feel crowded but Carion delivers a tight, tense and tragic package of the personal and political entwined, with Kusturica’s huge presence at its soul.

Kevin Harley
Freelance writer

Kevin Harley is a freelance journalist with bylines at Total Film, Radio Times, The List, and others, specializing in film and music coverage. He can most commonly be found writing movie reviews and previews at GamesRadar+. 

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