Mita Tova 2014

Vadim Rizov, AV Club: The Farewell Party leaves no doubt as to where it stands on the right to die with dignity when facing terminal illness, but it's so clumsily made that it serves only to exasperate. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: It never lapses into mawkishness, but remains clear-eyed and compassionate. It's not coldly clinical; instead, the characters are treated with grace and respect. Read more

Peter Keough, Boston Globe: A bittersweet, wryly comic, keenly observed look at senescence from Israeli directors Sharon Maymon and Tal Granit. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The gags in the movie's first half are so unapologetically mordant that I was disappointed to see them dwindle to nothing in the second, as so often happens in stories like this one. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: This is straight-up commercial comedy, low-keyed division, and while it can't hold a candle to recent, dark-comic Israeli achievements such as Joseph Cedar's "Footnote," the actors more than save it. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It's taking a strong stand on the morality of mercy killing, no doubt, but it also acknowledges the precious glory of life. It's a rare film that can smile while studying suffering. Read more

Kevin P. Sullivan, Entertainment Weekly: The drama falls somewhere on the spectrum between Michael Haneke's devastating Amour and the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies, but the result is a film that's frank about death without leaving you cold. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A gentle but pointed work that walks a particular line to create a specific tone, a consistently warm and comic film about an unmistakably serious subject. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: For all its sensitivity to the subject, "The Farewell Party" makes a number of tonal missteps ... Read more

Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer: For all its talk of death, The Farewell Party, featuring a terrific ensemble cast, is a story about life. Always honest, graceful and funny it explores with deep compassion its characters familial and romantic relationships. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: I can't recall any film ever making me laugh and cry in complete comic and dramatic balance like "The Farewell Party." Read more

Mark Matousek, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: How refreshing for a film to stare death in the face and find compassion reflected in its gaze. Read more

Abby Garnett, Village Voice: The Farewell Party makes drama out of right-to-die politics and asserts that just about everyone who makes it past a certain age will have to contend with the issue in one way or another. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: The themes are life and death, but the tone stays breezy. Read more