While we in Kathmandu are lucky to have the likes of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF), Film South Asia, and a host of for­eign language film festivals, what we do miss are mainstream and art house English language films. Brit­ish films in particular. While the American superhero movies are all very entertaining, they lack a certain through-provoking quality for those who want a bit more than just an hour and a half of swashbuckling adventure.

 

 ‘That Good Night’ ticks all the boxes: entertaining, yes definitely; thought provoking, yes, we will talk about this movie for weeks; great actors, some might argue one of best actors ever, and certainly time well spent.

 

The basic story line of That Good Night is one of a 70-plus-year-old suffering from a terminal illness. Before he dies he has two aims: to be reconciled with his estranged son and to make his passing as easy as possible for his younger wife. He is a member of an exclusive and expen­sive euthanasia organization, which he hires to send him painlessly and quickly into ‘that good night’. What makes this film particularly poignant and tenderly watchable is the main character played by Sir John Hurt, who himself died of a terminal ill­ness at the age of 77 in January 2017, shortly after the film was shot.

 

Released in May 2018, the film received mixed reviews. No one can fault the acting of Golden Globe and BAFTA Award winning Hurt, espe­cially as it was his final role, and one that mirrored his own imminent death. But some critics were quick to pick holes in the weak story line and the abilities of the other actors. For me, just your average film buff, the movie was a gentle and visually stun­ning production in contemplation of both the quality of life, and whether we should have a choice in the time and method of our death.

 

For those who do not know, John Hurt was a British actor whose career spanned over 50 years, with award-worthy performances in ‘A Man for All Seasons’ (1966), ‘The Naked Civil Servant’ (1975), ‘Mid­night Express’ (1979) and ‘Alien’ (1979), among others. Playing alongside him in That Good Night is Charles Dance, another veteran of British cinema who readers might recognize from ‘Game of Thrones’ where he plays Tywin Lannister. In That Good Night Dance he plays the almost ethereal representative of the euthanasia organization, someone who is only seen by Hurt’s character, and leaves us wondering if he really does exist at all, or is he a figment of imagination. Swedish actress Sofia Helin plays Hurt’s younger wife and brings a sense of summer sun, stylish fashion, and sensuality into the pro­ceedings, which is paralleled by the glorious Portuguese setting.

 

Without giving too much away, Hurt’s character has called his son to his home in order to reconcile their differences before he dies. Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, mainly because of the father’s grouchiness and bad behavior towards his son’s girlfriend. Having failed in this, Hurt takes the decision to go ahead with his assist­ed death anyway. This too fails. He feels he has been cheated out of his death and out of the money he paid, but Charles Dance’s character claims this is because he does not believe Hurt truly wants to die just yet. Sure enough, as things prog­ress, Hurt gets a chance to live out another few months in happiness with his family before he goes into ‘that good night’