A Farewell to Fools

Full of historical errors (they use Cluj's post-communist flag during WW2?) and lacking any of the psychological and dramatic depth of the 1972 version, this film, albeit well shot and edited, is an unnecessary re-adaptation of Popovici's text. Without firm direction and tight script, the only acting to be somewhat appraised, belongs to Mr. Harvey Keitel. Mr. Depardieu only manages to aimlessly wander through his lines, and the changed ending (as by the producers' wishes) just steals what little enjoyment was left in this venture. An interesting take though is to replace the original Romanian pope to a Transylvanian Saxon minister, thus enabling even more historical debate over the subject.

The great Depardieu in a simple parable. It may not be earth-shattering but it is affecting and Depardieu is touching as the village idiot. I had to re-assess it after learning of the cast's dissatisfaction with the changes made afterwards, especially the ending. I was expecting a different ending and the original one was necessary to make the parable complete.

If you've read the reviews on The Rag, you know that in general, I don't care for upsetting movies with a subtitle of, "Life is terrible and people are mean." A Farewell to Fools is such a movie, and if you're sensitive like me, you probably won't like it. Since I love Gérard Depardieu so much, I don't want to see him treated badly. In a small Nazi-occupied town, a young boy, Bogdan Iancu, is friends with the local "idiot" who isn't an idiot at all but instead a veteran who survived a bullet to the head. Everyone else in the town picks on Gérard, makes fun of him, and treats him like a subhuman, and it's very sad. When Bogdan finds a dead German soldier, the other Nazis demand justice, threatening to kill the ten most prominent members of society in the morning if the murderer doesn't surrender. Led by priest Harvey Keitel and his selfish wife, Laura Morante, the threatened bunch plan on talking Gérard into sacrificing himself. His life is far less worthy than theirs, they think, and they throw him a birthday party to butter him up. "I don't have a birthday," he says, and as it's the first time anyone else in the town has been nice to him, he's excited to be included. It's sickening to see the lengths of deception the townspeople go to in order to get their way. They promise him a hero's funeral, a gold fence around his burial plot, an engraved portrait on his tombstone, a statue of his likeness, and the renaming of the town square after him. They refill his wine glass, call him "Uncle Theodore" instead of the insulting nickname they usually use, and even take down all their promises in writing as he requests. It's not very enjoyable to watch Gérard's grateful smile as everyone around him plans his death. However, if you do like the "people are mean" movies, you'll probably find a new favorite in this one.