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A comedy about sex, friendship, and all other things that invade our lives.
In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', middle-aged Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. His ex-wife, Louise, asks their estranged son, Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the Canadian healthcare system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while reuniting some of Remy's old friends, including Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude, who return to see their friend before he passes on.
Les Invasions Barbares, تهاجم بربرها, As Invasões Bárbaras, 야만적 침략, Le invasioni barbariche, Barbarenes invasjon, Die Invasion der Barbaren, Las invasiones bárbaras, 野蛮入侵, Нашествие варваров, פלישת הברברים, Barbarların İstilası, Barbárok a kapuk előtt, Нашествията на варварите, De barbariska invasionerna, Inwazja barbarzyńców, 老豆堅過美利堅, Нашестя варварів, Invaze barbarů, みなさん、さようなら, Cuộc Xâm Lăng Man Rợ, Barbaarien invaasio, Η Επέλαση των Βαρβάρων
“it’s not the present you cling to. it’s your past life. that life is already dead.”
the second film from the Le Déclin de l’empire américain loose trilogy finally got Denys Arcand his Oscar. the first Canadian film and the first sequel (and only film so far) to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a mere 17 years after his first nomination. the film began with a terminally ill man and his adult son going to America for healthcare, which in terms, was both hilarious and absurd considering Canada’s universal healthcare system (which apparently is quite horrible) and the fact that their tax dollars were funding this film — already a fun start to a wonderful film. …
While a bit softer and tender than its predecessor, The Decline of the American Empire, this is no less interesting, thought-provoking, sometimes very funny, enormously nostalgic and witty.
It has its fair share of sexual stories, the promise of a life lived fully and the pangs of it passing by so quickly. The relationships we destroy in our bid to conquer life and get the most out of it. It really seemed to be filled with questions I have (and I am sure a huge majority of people) seem to contemplate one time or another: what the fuck is the point of all this? How to go out in a dignified way? How not to fuck up your friendships? How to live a life that makes you want to embrace death when the time comes?
With The Decline of the American Empire, Denys Arcand became the first Canadian director to have a film nominated for the Oscar for Best International Feature. It only seems fitting, then, that the film’s sequel, The Barbarian Invasions, would go on to be the first (and so far, only) Canadian film to win the award. Whatever nostalgia is held for Arcand’s seminal sex comedy—of which there appears to be very little in this, the year of our lord 2023—probably contributed somewhat to its follow-up’s lofty praise upon release 20 years ago; the film not only won the International Feature Oscar, but was also nominated for Arcand’s screenplay, as well as winning the corresponding award in Cannes alongside Marie-Josée Croze’s surprise…
A college professor whose at the cliff of dying try to make amends with everyone on his life.
So to refresh everyone's mind, a few months back I get to review "The Decline Of The American Empire," a sex "comedy" about a group of old people just talking about sex for almost two hours. My rating for that movie, as you may expect, was bad. I still kinda hate it, and find it completely boring.
However, this belated sequel was surprisingly better. I believe the best is the fact that we no longer have a bunch of people just talking about sex, but there's actually something resembling a plot. The whole thing with the son was rather good, and the…
This is like a "smart 16-year old" idea of what an "adult art movie" is. Filled with references to sex, jerking off and blowjobs (but without the actual presence of a bare breast, a penis or anything remotely close to a sexual act, God Forbid we sink into that immaturity), as well as name-dropping various people from history of around the world, as well as writers and philosophers (they even make time to mention Solzhenytsin twice, maybe the worst Nobel prize winner of Literature in the 20th century), thought schools and all that. They even make a subplot about heroin! How brave! How amazing! And the whole thing is soured up by the fact that…
I decided to listen to it again, and I think I find it slightly less good than the first time I listened to it. Still, it’s a good movie to watch once.
By the time the 1% son was buying off yet more people – this time his POS father's former students to visit him in the hospital and tell him how much he meant to them – I wanted to punch this movie in the face.
The film centers on Remy, who's dying of cancer, and his relationship with his son, Sebastien, a very successful businessman. Like many father-son relationships, this one is complicated largely because Remy is a bad, absentee father.
Remy's womanizing broke up his family, he's very selfish and his years as a history professor have been met with failure except for his ability to bed many female students. Now that's he's dying, Sebastien's mother guilts him into flying from London to Montreal to spend time with his father, who he doesn't even like.
The film starts off strong, but really lags at times. It's also hard to believe the effort Sebastien goes through for his awful father. I certainly wouldn't do it…
"That's why Nicole divorced Tom Cruise! He'd lend their Colorado home to anybody."
I enjoyed it, but also found it to be kind of a disappointment. It's a very good looking movie with a good screenplay and a good premise, but honestly nothing comes together well by the end. Some point in the third act it kind of just feels like the movie ran out of ideas and kind of went the cliché/predictable route. Did not really care for or connect with the main character - found him to be a pretty unlikable and creepy assh*le throughout the entire movie, nor did I feel like he changes or grows in any significant way. Not great, but did have some good moments and was worth watching once - 6/10.
I gave this film a shot because it's leaving Criterion Channel at the end of August and it's description sounded pretty cool. Ahhh it's so so at best
The movie centers on a dying man and his successful businessman of a son. The father's cheating broke up their family a long time ago. Their relationship is strained because of his fidelity still. Once he gets diagnosed with terminal illness the son has ex lovers and friends alike come see his father and "see him out*. He also does other things for his father to make him more comfortable. Including buy him heroin and have one of his former lover's daughter smoke with him. She's a junkie and knows a good…
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