Finding humor in death is easier said than done but the Israeli film THE FAREWELL PARTY manages this feat. The first scene is a good example of what’s to come: a depressed old woman gets a call from god telling her to keep holding on and continue living. God is of course not on the line, it is in fact the 72 year old Ezekiel (Zeev Revah), who lives in an assisted living home with his wife Levana (Levana Finkelstein). The couple still has a certain amount of autonomy and permanent care is not necessary but the end is inevitable and the ailments are getting more serious. They have managed to make this strange in-between stage as comfortable as possible for themselves as they leisurely wait for death. When Max, a good friend of theirs, gets sick the situation drastically changes. The pain is unbearable and life does not seem to be worth living, yet how can Ezekiel and Levana help? Euthanasia is illegal in Israel but seeing their friend suffer is out of the question. Ezekiel constructs a euthanasia device with the help of a veterinarian who provides him with the necessary medicine. The couple are confronted with new requests very quickly and are soon faced with a far more dramatic question: Levana has Alzheimer’s and needs to decide between a life with no memory and voluntary death.

Directing duo Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit tackle difficult topics in an amazingly light-footed, funny way. The material could have easily become melodramatic or overly broad yet THE FAREWELL PARTY manages to hit just the right tone.

Michael Meyns

Translation: Elinor Lewy