FAREWELL AMOR REVIEW - SDIFF 2020

Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor tells the story of an Angolan family as they are reunited in the U.S after 17 years of separation from between a father and his wife and daughter. The story is told through the three different perspectives and showcases the feelings of which come with reunitement and the secrets that lie underneath.

This piece was the first I saw after Nomadland at the San Diego International Film Festival, which I found to be more admirable than well-rounded. And I didn’t know anything going into Farewell Amor besides the idea that it was a family drama.

When it first started, I was feeling rather split-minded as I was enticed by the possibility of what this story might be telling but also nervous as its navigation was not the satisfying route. But once again, that was just at the start.

The first thing to state is that performances between the three - the father, the mother and the daughter - all held their own against each other and I found them each to have unique identities that were well-established enough to get certain ideas across to the viewer and that is all due to the performances being put forth.

I also admired the sense that the family represented, in a particular way, as an active volcano. The dynamic reminded me in many ways of the dynamic between Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story, where it feels like at any moment at any point this eruption is imminent and is going to happen at one point or another. It’s all just a matter of when. When will we get to see this eruption take place and what is the aftermath like afterwards?

In the case of Farewell Amor, once we got to that eruption, I was honestly at a point where I just couldn’t become as invested as I should have because the journey to getting to that place just wasn’t as pleasing as the performances being given. It is very odd as the three perspectives, besides more a less the father’s, feel rather repetitive and less distinct. You don’t have an overarching sense as to how each individual feels about the given situation; particularly with the mother who just feels mostly left to herself and isn’t provided with an appealing characteristic that makes her character more likeable because I couldn’t get behind her motives and why she feels that being a certain way is much better for the family than anything else.

However, when we arrived at the aftermath, I was fairly impressed to see how it makes itself different in the end than how it felt like it was leading to. It’s not a misdirect or a twist but rather a moment of levity and hope. And for where the story leaves itself, I found at that point some satisfaction in what I had watched.

But, in the end, besides the compelling performances and certain navigation through the story, I just found it to be very repetitive in what it’s speaking to us and not as fulfilling as it could have been. It’s best comparison is indeed Marriage Story. For that it bears similarities in what its navigation is and what its stories are about. It's only sad to say that one succeeded and the other is just more service than deeply meaningful.

Grade: B