City of Your Final Destination, The

Story

Omar Razaghi (Omar Metwally) is a Kansas University doctoral student who has a grant to write the biography of Jules Gund, a Latin American author of some fame who committed suicide. Omar’s academic and financial future depend on him writing the biography, but the executors of Gund’s estate – his brother Adam (Anthony Hopkins), widow Caroline (Laura Linney) and mistress Arden Langdon (Charlotte Gainsbourg) – have refused permission.

Urged on by his strong-willed girlfriend, Deirdre (Alexandra Maria Lara), Omar travels to Gund’s large but dilapidated estate in Uruguay to try to change the executors’ minds. Once in Uruguay, he encounters unexpected adventures and life-changing events.

Themes

Relationships; a homosexual relationship between an adult man and a boy; suicide

Violence

The City of Your Final Destination contains infrequent violence. For example:

A character talks about finding a man’s body after the man committed suicide by blowing the top of his head off with a gun.
A woman recounts an imagined scene where one woman drowns another by repeatedly pushing her under water with an oar. We see images of this happening.

Sexual references

This movie contains some sexual references. For example:

Jules Gund lived with both his wife and his mistress in the same house, and had a daughter with his mistress.
The background to Adam and Pete’s relationship seems to be that Adam took Pete to England as a young boy and adopted him as his son so that they could stay together. Adam now fears that his younger lover might leave him after a relationship of almost 25 years.
Arden tells Deirdre that she lied to a doctor about Omar being her boyfriend, because Argentinean men view relationships between men and woman in romantic terms.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

This movie contains some use of substances. For example:

Women smoke cigarettes. In one scene, a woman smokes a cigar.
People drink champagne early in the day, and a woman remarks on this.
Caroline makes a cocktail for herself and Adam.
Caroline, Adam and Omar drink scotch.

Nudity and sexual activity

This movie contains some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Omar passionately kisses Arden on the lips.
Pete lies naked in bed next to Adam, who is clothed.
Women wear low-cut tops and bathing suits.
In a couple of scenes, Adam kisses Pete on the lips.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie: an Apple laptop computer.

Coarse language

None of concern

Ideas to discuss with your children

The City of Your Final Destination is a romantic drama based on a novel by Peter Cameron, with a strong cast. It is a long and slow-moving film and might lack interest for children. Its themes make it unsuitable for children under 13.

The main messages from this movie are that love is a powerful emotion capable of changing lives. It causes people to reassess what is important and meaningful in their lives. The movie is also concerned with the way life can be chaotic and unpredictable.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include love and selflessness. For example, both Adam and Pete demonstrate these qualities by placing each other’s welfare and happiness above personal needs. Omar discovers that his love for Arden is more important than his career and financial security, and he sacrifices both to be with her.

You might also want to talk with your children about the long-term relationship between Adam and the much younger Pete, which appears to have started when Pete was a boy.