April 19, 2024

Having a laugh at euthanasia

A new Israeli film attempts to offer a humorous look at euthanasia.

A new Israeli film attempts to offer a humorous look at euthanasia. The Farewell Party, directed by young auteurs Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit, is a dark comedy about a group of Jerusalem retirement-home residents who create a euthanasia machine to put a dying friend out of his misery — and then face a moral dilemma when others come seeking the same service. Maymon and Granit say that want to teach people how to “laugh about death”.

“We really believed in this movie, what it says. It’s very important for us to raise these questions”, Maymon said.

The film has met with significant criticism both within Israel and abroad, and it has been difficult for its producers to find distributors. Nevertheless, it received positive reviews at the Venice Film Festival and has been selected for screening at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival. 

Xavier Symons
https://www.bioedge.org/images/2008images/the_farewell_party.jpg
Creative commons
euthanasia
films
Israel