France, Feb. 16 -- Greek-French director Costa-Gavras's latest film is set in a hospital's palliative care unit. And while death is ever present, Le Dernier Souffle ("The Last Breath") is above all an ode to life - and to the medical professionals who stay alongside their patients until the very end.
The idea for the film came from a book of the same name cowritten by doctor Claude Grange and philosopher Regis Debray, who sought to bring the issue of end of life care into the public dialogue.
The film follows an encounter between a writer (played by Denis Podalydes) and a doctor of palliative care (Kad Merad) who strike up a friendship. The writer comes to the hospital for a scan he is afraid will reveal a life-threatening cancer.
Instea...