Farewell Paradise (2020)

Directed by: Sonja Wyss | 93 minutes | documentary

Filmmaker Sonja Wyss (1967) is the youngest of four sisters. After a carefree start to her life, a move – from tropical Freeport in the Bahamas to the completely opposite Switzerland – was a turning point. Because their mother had no money, no job, no roof and no husband, the sisters were unceremoniously placed in foster families, and later they were reunited with their father. But it never became the way it used to be. With ‘Farewell Paradise’, Wyss tries to paint a picture of a broken family and how such a drastic event later influences her family by sharing his or her view of history in front of the camera with each of those involved. and herself.

‘Farewell Paradise’ mainly consists of talking heads: Sonja’s parents and her three older sisters are interviewed separately, but against the same background. They speak a charming Swiss dialect. The clothes of the sisters seem – consciously or unconsciously – to match. Sonja opens the conversation by showing her family the photo her father took on the day of departure; the plane that would take the female family members to New York in the background. The photo evokes emotions, especially in mother Dorine, who describes this day as the worst day of her life.

In bits and pieces the family history becomes clear. Dorine and Ueli’s marriage was not good, and Ueli’s infidelity began in the Bahamas. Sonja seems genuinely shocked when Ueli shows her a photo of one of his girlfriends there. Only Katherine, Christine and Sonja initially went to Switzerland, Bettina stayed behind in New York with Dorine in the hope that Ueli would travel after her. The fact that the sisters were placed in foster care not long after their arrival in Zurich is sad. It is clear that this period must have been traumatic for the girls, because both the eldest sister Katherine, then about twelve years old, and Christine, do not remember where they spent the first days on European soil.

The age difference between Sonja and her sisters is large, with her second sister she is seven years apart. But also between Katherine, Bettina and Christine the differences in how they experienced this period are significant. One puts the blame on the father, the other on the mother. One closed off from family life, the other depended very much on one of the parents. The most striking thing is that it has simply never been talked about in this family, but at the same time it is also very universal. How many families are there in which ostrich politics is practiced, with all the negative consequences that this entails? Shame plays a major role in this, so in that sense it is great that Sonja Wyss has put her family on the block to create clarity.

But does that make ‘Farewell Paradise’ a good documentary? Yes and no. The history of the Wyss family – apart from the contrast between the living environment – ​​is not that different from that of other sad divorces. You just have to feel like listening to the story of an unknown family for an hour and a half. But the importance of communication and honesty in a relationship, be it between a man and a woman, between parents and child or between siblings, has been proven beyond doubt with this documentary. The young actress Nina Wyss, Sonja’s daughter, asks more or less the most essential question at the end of the film. Do we learn from our parents’ mistakes?