Invasions barbares, Les (2003)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Denys Arcand

Writer:

Denys Arcand (writer)

Release Date:

24 September 2003 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

A provocative new comedy about sex, friendship, and all other things that invade our lives.

Plot:

During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Finance | September 11 2001 | Montreal | Drug Addiction

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 37 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Rémy Girard	...	Rémy
Stéphane Rousseau	...	Sébastien
Dorothée Berryman	...	Louise
Louise Portal	...	Diane
Dominique Michel	...	Dominique
Yves Jacques	...	Claude
Pierre Curzi	...	Pierre
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Nathalie
Marina Hands	...	Gaëlle
Toni Cecchinato	...	Alessandro
Mitsou	...	Ghislaine (as Mitsou Gélinas)
Sophie Lorain	...	First Lover
Johanne-Marie Tremblay	...	Sister Constance Lazure (as Johanne Marie Tremblay)
Denis Bouchard	...	Duhamel
Micheline Lanctôt	...	Nurse Carole

Also Known As:

The Barbarian Invasions (International: English title) (USA)
Invasion of the Barbarians (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexual dialogue and drug content.

Runtime:

99 min | Canada:112 min (DVD version)

Country:

Canada | France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | France:U | Malaysia:18PL | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Spain:13 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Astral Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Denys Arcand]the union representative whose jacket says "Directeur."

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Sebastian and Nathalie first come to Nathalie's heroin dealer, we hear the rain falling, yet when Nathalie steps on the street there is no sign of rain but we can still hear it.

Quotes:

Hospital Patient Assistant: Good morning, guys. Welcome to America.
Rémy: Praise the Lord.
Sébastien: Hallelujah.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Psalom

Key Themes are Not 'Anti-capitalism, Anti-Americanism'

There seems to be a lot of passion over the claim that the film is anti-American, anti-capitalist, etc. Many criticisms seem to dismiss the humanistic elements in this film - pain, death, reconciliation - because it has a vague intellectual, leftist, socialist face. My experiences in Canada tend to suggest that the Canadians have plenty of targets down south that deserve criticism. But does it matter? Whether the film included all these elements, the key theme was the preparation for death and reconciliation between those who will not see each other again.

Doesn't anybody cry over loss? Are we scared of those things after death? or do we fear the process of dying - the loss of the person, their presence? A person died in this film - right before us - 100 minutes of decline -and what a sigh of relief that there was reconciliation in the end! That there was time to speak, time to be present. Consider the contrast between the daughter on the yacht - stranded, distant - and the son near his father. The great pain that welled up in me to see that there was no opportunity for her left.

I don't cry in films, but I did here. I feared dying more than ever - other people's deaths, and mine - and I resolved to prepare for it.