Watch Departure For Free

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Not many directors start their full-length future film careers with powerful films. The few examples I can think of include Jean-Luc Godard with his 'À bout de soufflé' ('Breathless'), Alejandro González Iñárritu's 'Amores Perros', Gus van Sant's 'Mala Noche', Larry Clark's 'Kids' and Xavier Dolan's 'I killed my mother' ('J'ai tué ma mère'). And now there is another one on my list: Andrew Steggall's 'Departure'.Elliot (Alex Lawther) and his mother Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson) are vacating their holiday home in the south of France. As they are packing, a picture unfolds. Once happy times don't seem so happy anymore. Could the absent husband be part of the problem? It is not that simple. We gradually get to know the mother and her son. Beatrice's life is slowly crumbling away, while Elliot, on the other hand, seems to be living in his own world. Elliot meets a French lad, Clément (Phénix Brossard) a few years older than him and develops a crush on him. Both boys have issues to deal with, influencing their friendship. When Elliot's dad arrives, matters come to a point.This film has several strong points: The cinematography by Brian Fawcett is outstanding, be it of the forest and river landscapes, or indoor scenes. I found the acting excellent; special mention must be made of the powerful performances of Juliet Stevenson and Alex Lawther. My only negative comment is that the editing could have been a tad tighter, particularly regarding the underwater footage that seems to be over-emphasized. This is only a minor issue and has no serious impact on this rewarding film. I am looking forward to Andrew Seggall's next film. I score 'Departure' an excellent 8/10.

Excellent film. Beautiful backdrop of rural Languedoc in autumn, natural peaceful and unspoiled whilst the lives of the characters portrayed are anything but. I do not agree at all with those reviewers here who give the movie a panning. I thought it was very sensitively handled and there was a lot of authenticity and insight into young Elliott's first gay fumblings. Yes, some bits of dialogue and screenplay were a bit clunky and wooden, especially when the father arrived towards the end of the film. But I really enjoyed the interaction and exploration between the two young men: lonely young gay English lad bored with his mother on holiday bumps into sexy athletic moody young Frenchman , OK you could say it is 'cliched', but so much of our lives are unoriginal, but no less exciting when it happens to us for the first time at that age. I saw a lot of myself in Elliott.One of the most enjoyable gay movies I have seen in a long time. And the fact there was very little sex in it was not a problem at all. It improved the narrative. Less is more in this case. Well done Andrew Steggall.

Well, what can I say about a film with such an elegant and wonderful portrayal of coming of age and more than one coming out. It emphasis and tackles the crippling issues of contemporary society, a truly unique story about depression, marriage, love, sexuality, and youth. Its refreshing to see a film about young homosexuals and it not being polluted by sex or stereotypes, but don't get me wrong, there are elements of sexual passion, but it first and foremost is a story about love. The cinematography parallels the story-line while being unique on its own. The music by Jools Scott, an amazing musician whom I've had the pleasure of talking too, creates an amazing soundtrack that is minimal by having wonderful moments of reflective silence. My only critique (for the movie in its entirety) would be that the final song before the credits didn't quite emulate the emotion of the scene. A piece that Jools had shared with me (that I will not name for copyright reasons) would of better suited that ending. The ending in its self was abrupt, slightly disappointing, however, very much appropriate. It was only disappointing because it left me wanting much more, but I soon realise after watching the film that if there was more it might of ruined the magic of the film, this ending allows for viewer interpretation and highlights how life moves on. This film is true art, and should be available worldwide, even studied in schools as it is a real account of LGBT love showing how it is like every other love. It is a must see and I can assure you that I will watch it many many more times. It has my highest approval.

This film does not have a shred of originality. Juliet Stevenson does her best and as usual gives a good performance, but she stood alone. But I will pass over the inadequacies of the acting and get to what I think is the core of what is wrong. This is not appealing to LGBT audiences, and the badly done male sexuality will probably put off the straight audience too. Both stories of mother and son deserve more depth, and there is too much padding and references to 'art' such as Dvorak, Proust, etc, etc. There is a nod to Rimbaud and one of his poems about a shot soldier although those who do not know the poem probably would not notice. And water!!! What is it with supposedly gay themed films that we either have shower scenes, bathing scenes or something else to do with the element? The ending is water and I have no idea what was going on. Death by water or rebirth by water? In short, depressing and morbid. And why too did the father have to be gay? I thought of Techine, and missed his clarity. It is set in France, but no one seems to live in the village except for the late teen who is the obscure object of desire for both mother ans son. I cannot give this film a rating at all.