We don't get enough French political thrillers over here nowadays, do we?
"Farewell" breaks that trend, and even puts a little spin on things that should make it a little more accessible to American audiences: it's based on real events and how, in large part, two people brought about the fall of the Soviet bloc.
The film takes place in 1981 and revolves around Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a regular guy with a family who finds himself in the middle of a ring of spies trading American and Soviet secrets. Initially it was a one-off, but Pierre couldn't resist looking at the package he was delivering, and found the defense plans to the White House to the plans to the space shuttle (in a foreboding pieces of foreshadowing, Pierre notes that French scientists thought the shuttle would not survive exting the atmosphere).
Soon Pierre is wanted by the governments of three countries: France, the USSR and the United States, kicking of a series of events that would prove unfortunate for Pierre and his friend/accomplice Sergei (Emir Kusturica), a Soviet dissident who refuses to leave his country even though his life is constantly in danger.
The politics are thick and heavy and American audiences not savvy to subtitles and foreign politics might find "Farewell" too obtuse to crack. But those accustomed to paying attention to their films will relish the intrigue and even rewarded with two actors they'll recognize: Willem Dafoe playing a slimy government agent, and Fred Ward inhabiting the big chair as Ronald Reagan.
Ward doesn't go for an impersonation, but shoots for that breathy delivery that was Ronnie's signature, with mixed success. He's a solid enough Reagan, though, and the acting is uniformly solid.
Both political and personal, it doesn't take the side of one country over the another, but rather pits the rainmakers against the normal people who affect change at the cost of their own lives. It's neither a rah-rah pro-American film or one of those "America sucks" films that the far right consistently rails against.
"Farewell" instead goes for realism, recognizing that in international politics, it's government in all its forms that fails its people.