'Never a good time to say goodbye': Julie Tan and Tosh Zhang reflect on life and death after their new movie Good Goodbye

What does a good goodbye mean to you? Are you able to make one?

This was what AsiaOne asked local actors Julie Tan and Tosh Zhang, in a recent interview for their new movie Good Goodbye.

The anthology film, which revolves around palliative care, begins with its first story titled The Last Kiss.

Tosh and Julie play Zheng and cancer-stricken Cindy, a couple who finds healing and closure amid adversities.

"To be honest, there's never a good time to say goodbye… But I guess what we can do is to really, really live life to the fullest. It might sound really cliche, but it's true," answered Julie, 31.

Tosh, 34, felt that goodbyes "hurt the most": "I think being able to say goodbye to someone is also a way of expressing love, especially in the context of death."

"My mum told me that if she becomes very sick someday, and she's no longer able to have a good quality of life, to try not to hold on to her and keep her alive on life support. She said that loving her is also learning how to let go."

'It felt like I lost a family member'

When asked if they've experienced any painful farewells, Julie recalled how she didn't have time to say goodbye to her late godfather in Paris. 

Back then, she was busy with the Star Awards when her parents told her that he didn't have much time left.

"They asked if I was able to fly over to meet him before he passed on and I told them I couldn't leave because I needed to go for rehearsals and then eventually for the award itself," she said.

She later received the news that he passed away during one of her rehearsals: "I think that kind of made me realise what is truly important in life. It made me prioritise what is truly important to me."

Tosh brought up a time where he had to bid farewell to an abandoned dog he adopted.

"She grew up with me from my teenage years up until I became a young adult. When I entered the entertainment industry, I was very busy initially because of a lot of movie promotions and I think she fell very sick," he said.

"I didn't spend much time with her until her final days, and then she passed on which really left a hole in my heart because it felt like I lost a family member."

He added that he didn't have the "courage" to have another pet for 10 years until he came across a photo of a similar-looking dog on his Instagram feed on her death anniversary.

"It was like I was given a sign that maybe she's saying hello to me. And after that I decided I'm ready to fully move on and get a new dog which I have now and it's amazing," said Tosh.

'I've lived my life to my definition of fullest'

If you have three months left to live, how would you live then?

Good Goodbye posed this hard-hitting question to viewers in their trailer, and AsiaOne asked Julie and Tosh for their personal thoughts.

"There's nothing much to do because I've pretty much done everything that I could do… I've already said sorry to people I need to say sorry to, forgiven people I needed to forgive and loved the people I need to love. I've lived my life to my definition of fullest," answered Julie.

Tosh however had a completely different answer.

"If I had three months left, I think I'd want to travel the world with close friends and family and spend quality time with them. Probably also have a party before I actually go to celebrate my short life," he laughed.

Good Goodbye, which also stars Andie Chen, Aster Yeow, Shane Pow, Yang Shi Bin and Teo Ser Lee, is currently showing in theatres.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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