Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Barbarian Invasions

This is a vastly entertaining and intellectual movie in French and from Montreal. It is a sequel after seventeen years of Arcand's 1986 film The Decline of the American Empire. The plot revolves around a libertine professor's battle with terminal cancer, and his estranged son's efforts, after reluctantly returning from London at the request of Remy's ex-wife Louise, to make his dying father more comfortable in his last days. His son proves willing to go to any lengths to achieve this, navigating Quebec's healthcare system, and in the process he gathers the various other friends and family members from Remy's past who come to visit and comfort him. During Remy's last days, he and his friends travel to the cottage of the first film, and discuss philosophy, politics, and past sexual and intellectual exploits.

No comments: