loading...
The Barbarian Invasions
2003
Canada's Denys Arcand delivers a beautiful film with THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, the story of a man on his deathbed who is joined by his distant son and all his closest friends throughout the last--wonderful and loving--days of his life. A follow-up to 1986's THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, the same characters from that movie .. Read more
| Starring | Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Dorothee Berryman, Louise Portal |
|---|---|
| Director | Denys Arcand |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
loading...
The Barbarian Invasions
Canada's Denys Arcand delivers a beautiful film with THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, the story of a man on his deathbed who is joined by his distant son and all his closest friends throughout the last--wonderful and loving--days of his life. A follow-up to 1986's THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, the same characters from that movie reappear this time around. Now Remy (Remy Girard), the horny history teacher, is hospitalized and in pain. But at the urging of his wife Louise (Dorothee Berryman), Remy's son Sebastian (Stephane Rousseau) comes to his aid. Sebastian is a banker who tosses cash around, paying hospital administrators, union workers, Remy's former students, and even a local heroin dealer, to help make his father's last days of life as comfortable as possible. Along with this financial commitment also comes love, and the relationship between this father and son is touching. The sometimes raucous and comic mood of the film, generated by perverted stories and silly jokes, stands in striking contrast to this serious story of life, sickness, and dying. But it is that balance, which Arcand keeps so neatly in check, that makes THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS a truly great cinematic feat, as well as a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film 2003 and Denys Arcand and Marie-Josee Croze won awards at Cannes too for Best Screenplay and Best Actress respectively.
| Starring | Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Dorothee Berryman, Louise Portal, Dominique Michel |
|---|---|
| Director | Denys Arcand |
| Studio | ARTIFICIAL EYE |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 39 mins Watch now: 1 hr 36 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: French Watch Online: French, English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English Watch Online: English |
| Released | DVD: 28 Jun 2004 Watch now: 16 Oct 2009 Production year: 2003 |
| Watch now | Subscribe and watch this as part of an unlimited package. |
| Format | DVD |
-
Critics' reviews (4)
View all -
Director Denys Arcand's follow-up to his acclaimed 1986 film The Decline of the American Empire could almost be viewed as an inadvertent companion piece to Tim Burton's Big Fish. It explores the same premise of a dying man reflecting on his life and reconciling with a son who is much more sensible than the parent. However, whereas in Burton's film the protagonist is a fantasist, here he is an intellectual — a womanising history professor who is dying of cancer. Old lovers and friends congregate to help Rémy (played by Rémy Girard) celebrate and analyse a life that has earned the disapproval of his son, financial whizzkid Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau). The Barbarian Invasions reunites the characters of the earlier film, but does not depend on the viewer's familiarity with them for its success in painting a picture of a bunch of hedonists facing the finite nature of time — a picture that is by turns funny and surprisingly poignant. Rémy's friendship with the junkie daughter of a former lover perfectly expresses this poignancy, while his ever-present dry wit steers the film clear of the dangerous waters of sentiment.
-
Witty and moving account of death and rebirth as well as a nostalgic reminder of politically moribund ideologies; on one level you could take it as a hymn to the power of capitalism, though it is richer and deeper than that.
-
Most helpful member's review
View all -
25 out of 29 people found this review helpful
excellent!
This is one of the best films i've seen recently. What I want from a film is simple; I just want a really good story; something well told with subtlety.. just getting the job done and suspended my life for an hour or two.
This film does it perfectly. An intellectual film which doesn't pander itself to the needs of the mass audience, it tells its own story in its own time, and is fascinating from beginning to end. I wish all films were like this.
I definately recommend it to anyone feeling a little disenchanted with modern Hollywood pictures. Just because this is French don't think it's going to be pretentious malarkey! It's actually a very good story that you'll be able to relate to and enjoy, and come away with something from it. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Great film
This is the 3rd in the trilogy, while the early ones 'Jesus of Montreal' and 'Decline of the American Empire' don't do anything for me, they are useful to see the build up of the characters in Barbarian Invasions. Take away the complete lack of charm of the main character, and the rest of the file I feel completely captures the misgivings and sadness of a life coming to an end, the relationship with the son is heart wrenching. How the capitalist son takes care of his idealistic, hedonistc, sad, selfish father is heart wrenching. All the people in the film are actually shown to be somewhat selfish although on the outside they appear 'nice' the heroin addict turns oout to be the good girl, Fabulous, Fabulous, Fabulous.
-
More like this
View all
Related user collection
The Best Of Brendan Fraser (35)
100% from 1 member
