A story about a character discovering they have a terminal illness and setting out to live their life as they hadn’t before is a well-trodden premise. Getting it right onscreen is a whole other story. Directed by Isabel Coixet, from a screenplay she co-wrote with Enrico Audenino, and based on the novel by Michela Murgia, Three Goodbyes ( Tre ciotole in Italian) isn’t just about Marta’s (Alba Rohrwacher) illness; it’s about the ending of a relationship, the different reactions it elicits, and what one decides to do with their life thereafter.

The film begins with Marta (Alba Rohrwacher), a high school teacher, and her partner, Antonio (Elio Germano), a chef, in the midst of an argument. It sounds like one they’ve had multiple times before, only this one ends their relationship perman

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