A narrative a few character discovering they’ve a terminal sickness and getting down to stay their life as they hadn’t earlier than is a well-trodden premise. Getting it proper onscreen is a complete different story. Directed by Isabel Coixet, from a screenplay she co-wrote with Enrico Audenino, and primarily based on the novel by Michela Murgia, Three Goodbyes (Tre ciotole in Italian) isn’t nearly Marta’s (Alba Rohrwacher) sickness; it’s concerning the ending of a relationship, the totally different reactions it elicits, and what one decides to do with their life thereafter.
The movie begins with Marta (Alba Rohrwacher), a highschool trainer, and her companion, Antonio (Elio Germano), a chef, within the midst of an argument. It feels like one they’ve had a number of occasions earlier than, solely this one ends their relationship completely. Antonio up and leaves Marta, who’s devastated. For some time, she’s a shell of an individual — she doesn’t exit and refuses the assistance of her sister. Antonio, in the meantime, dives headfirst into his work. When Marta discovers she’s obtained most cancers, she should take a radical have a look at her life earlier than it’s over.
Three Goodbyes is a fantastically informed story a few girl’s option to embrace the modifications which have altered her life in a method or one other.
This abstract doesn’t do Three Goodbyes justice. It’s a visceral movie that will get to the guts of Marta’s life. We’ve all questioned, at one level or one other, what our lives might have been like if we’d realized one thing sooner, if we’d solely determined to depart a relationship that was not working. Marta grieves her relationship and the approaching finish of her life, however she finds she’s in a a lot happier place than she would have been had she not obtained her analysis.
That is mirrored in the way in which Marta presents herself, the slight tilt of Rohrwacher’s head, or the way in which her lips perk up in a semi-smile that expresses her disappointment and happiness without delay. The way in which she reacts to the dissolution of her relationship with Antonio is far totally different. He appears okay at first, however then, when the narrative underscores how dangerous he feels and the way a lot he misses Marta, we notice how the choice has affected each of them — for higher and worse.
Three Goodbyes Is A Love Letter To Life & Self-Discovery
Marta begins to see her life as a recent begin, expressing her emotions to these round her, together with a fellow trainer (Francesco Carril), freely and with love in her coronary heart. In some ways, Three Goodbyes is a love letter to life as a lot as it’s about Marta’s self-discovery. She learns learn how to stay the way in which she didn’t earlier than, and embraces the exploration of what she needs and doesn’t. Right here, life is a cool drink of water, and Marta is thirsty for it.
Three Goodbyes is a fantastically informed story a few girl’s option to embrace the modifications which have altered her life in a method or one other. It’s a grounded, human story that underscores the concept that what could seem inevitable isn’t all the time the worst factor, even when can really feel that method at first. Contemplating that Murgia died of kidney most cancers in 2023 and the story is semi-autobiographical, Three Goodbyes is an intimate, transferring exploration of a girl on the verge of unearthing what she needs to stay for within the time she has left.
The movie might’ve fallen into clichéd rhythms, however Coixet and Audenino deal with the story with a lot care and thoughtfulness. There’s an emotional resonance that permeates the movie and fills your coronary heart with an ache so sturdy that it’s tough to stroll away with out being affected.
Three Goodbyes premiered on the 2025 Toronto Movie Competition.