The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares)

Starring:Dorothee Berryman, Isabelle Blais, Markita Boies, Denis Bouchard, Toni Cecchinato, Marie-Josee Croze, Pierre Curzi, Yves Desgagnes, Sylvie Drapeau, RÃ©my Girard, Mitsou Gelinas, Marina Hands, Yves Jacques, Micheline Lanctot, Sophie Lorain, Dominique Michel, Louise Portal, Stephanie Rousseau, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Denys Arcand
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

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The intriguing Denys Arcand (director of Jesus of Montreal and Stardom) returns to the lusty, cantankerous intellectuals of his first film, The Decline of the American Empire. Remy (Remy Girard), a history professor, is dying of cancer, and his estranged and financially successful son Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) returns to care for the old man. With the power of money, Sebastien cuts through bureaucracy and the law to give his father some comfort--comfort that Remy accepts with reluctance, because in his eyes the unintellectual Sebastian has betrayed all of Remy's principles. Old friends arrive and soon the conversation turns to sex, religion, history, sex, academia, sex--The Barbarian Invasions isn't very focused, but the very breadth of its ideas makes it worth seeing; few movies even try to grapple with morality or the state of our culture, let alone with this kind of intelligence and grace. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Academy Award(R) winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 2003, THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS is a provocative look at the many ties that bind a group of friends and lovers. It's not easy for a narrow-minded professor (Rémy Girard) to reconcile with his equally stubborn son. But soon, father and son find themselves gathering with their wide and colorful circle of family and friends to confront their differences, confess their secrets, and celebrate life! Winner of the Best Actress (Marie-Josée Croze) and Best Screenplay awards at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival -- critics everywhere hailed this outstanding motion picture as one of the year's best!

Customer Reviews:

Seminal Quebecois movie.......2007-06-07

This was a great movie. I found it to be very philosopical and nostalgic. There was a point int he movie where you heard them talk about their various philosophical turns from Maoism to feminism to Quebecois separatism. The movie's title represents different invasions. One invasion was the Muslim invasion of the West(which he jokes about when he talks about them as rabid Mohammedans in the movie), especially concerning September 11,2001 and Quebec's immigration when all the main characters reminisce about the past. Another one was the sickness that had come to the elderly father in the movie that had made him a barbarian when his son had come to aid him. The conflicts that arise in this movie are numerous and the issues that arise out of them may represent an invasion to the confronted. When these issues are resolved, you see a passionate and loving story behind this scary title. This is a little slice of French culture that makes them so admirable. The writer deserves my highest regards no matter what interpretation you may see from me or other reviewers.

Vive La Diference.......2007-04-26

I honestly did not know what to expect with "The Barbarian Invasion". Heck, it took me about a half hour to figure out it was a Canadian movie rather than the French movie I initially thought it was. I had trouble, at first, knowing when to take a scene seriously or satirically but I was catching on and finding myself enjoying every step of the way. There is a lot of political comment in this movie and the health care system in Canada and the labor unions come under the severest satire. The squemish may object to the sexual innuendos whether they be blatant or merely suggestive but, I have to admit, there was a lot of red-faced humor in this movie. Somewhere along the way, we glimpse some serious commentary about life, death, and relationships with one another. The element that raises "The Barbarian Invasion" above crude sexual slapstick and up to the level of respectability is the relationship between father and son. The way the film stays with that metamorphisis of anger and resentment into love and forgiveness is the beauty of "The Barbarian Invasion". The path that leads us there is riddled with so much gratuitous humor and political satire (as well as insight) that it's hard, sometimes, to stay on track. The ending, as objectionable as it may be to many, also serves as a reminder to how love can compromise standards to achieve the needs of a loved one. In that way, "The Barbarian Invasion" mirrors the strength of "Million Dollar Baby" in a most complementary manner.

What had me stumped the most about this movie was the meaning of the movie's title. I accepted it to mean the effect on the son when he tried to come to the rescue of the father. Although I understand the objections many may have, this is a skillfully made movie that tells a powerful message.

An Inadvertent Warning Regarding Nationalized Health Care.......2007-04-25

"Barbarian Invasions" revolves around the final days of a decadent and third rate scholar dying from cancer. Remy is in his mid-fifties and his self indulgent lifestyle has destroyed a marriage and alienated a son and daughter. Remy's students apparently see through the man's shallowness and barely give him the time of day. Fortunately, the son Sebastien never embraced the father's immature socialist economic theories. He is now an affluent businessman able to spend money to help Remy experience a more pleasant death.

It leaves one speechless observing Sebastien's struggles with the Canadian public healthcare system. It is downright awful---and thoroughly corrupt. Patients are crammed together in small rooms. Thievery is rampant and hospital administrators are afraid of the unionized workforce. Bribes must be paid under the table to get anything done. Remy and Sebastien are even compelled to travel to the United States for advanced medical testing. Is Canada a Third World nation? This sure seems to be the case. Do you know anybody who is infatuated with taxpayer funding of health care? If so, make sure they see "Barbarian Invasions." This could turn them into hard core Republican voters before the end of story. No, this is not a great film. It is not for everybody. But there's enough here for those wishing to more fully understand the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of today's leftists. They truly number among the barbarians of our age.

A Much Better Than Average Death.......2007-01-24

While the surface plot is certainly of the typical dying father/prodigal son format, and surely other writer/directors have explored the inextricable link between life and death, I found LES INVASIONS BARBARES to far exceed the commonplace in this work. Others here have summarized the plot, but it is the many background stories that have caused this film to capture my admiration and I can easily place it on my all-time top ten list.

I will admit that I'm a sucker for entourage films, yet this is one of the best of its type due to the many inadvertent interactions between the cast. The character of the son, Sebastien, played by Stephane Rousseau, perfectly captures the emotional distance, as it breaks down, between father and son, not through any of the philanthropic acts, but through a mutual understanding and respect, that the viewer can rightly imagine has been kept dormant all along.

Carcinogens and Rabid Mohammedans.......2007-01-12

LES INVASIONS BARBARES is both a Canadian and cosmopolitan movie. For example, its opening depicts the horrors of nationalized health care, Canuck-style. But as our multi-lingual and well-heeled cast of hedonists arrives on the scene, the movie transforms to a series of dialogues -- some meaningful, some comic. The scenes often fade to black as the interactions continue, giving the film a realism that meshes nicely with its highly polished cinematographic sheen.

There are other moments of almost intentional dissonance. The gusto with which these people share details of their sex lives seems oddly exhibitionistic. Rémy Girard (playing a character named Remy, go figure) is an excellent actor, but he is so hale and energetic, it's hard to believe he is suffering from cancer. Marie-Josée Croze plays Nathalie, who is a heroin addict, but you'd never know it. Like everyone else here, she is expensively dressed and well-maintained. (In fact, this whole movie has the glow of money; it's a very attractive-looking film.)

All in all, this film is pretty much a gab-fest between highly educated and somewhat spoiled people. It is funny, but not hilarious, mildly touching, but never poignant.

SIDELIGHT: That's the writer/director, Denys Arcand, playing the corrupt union leader at the hospital.

Charlie Rose with Ron Brownstein; Mark Halperin; Jai Rodriguez; Ted Allen; Carson Kressley; Thom Filicia; Kyan Douglas; Denys Arcand (February 18, 2004)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Ron Brownstein; Mark Halperin; Jai Rodriguez; Ted Allen; Carson Kressley; Thom Filicia; Kyan Douglas; Denys Arcand (February 18, 2004)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Educational | Genres | DVD | Video

Description

Ron Brownstein of the LA Times and Mark Halperin of ABC News share thoughts on the Democratic primaries after Wisconsin. Then, Jai Rodriguez, Ted Allen, Carson Kressley, Thom Filicia and Kyan Douglas discuss the success of their show, Queer Eye For the Stright Guy. Finally, filmmaker Denys Arcand and his new project, The Barbarian Invasions.

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your date with destiny
Who are the Barbarians?

The Barbarian Invasions [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

your date with destiny.......2007-01-25

The monastics encourage Christians to give some thought to your death every day, not in morbid introspection but in order to live fully today. This film, which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, does just that. Remy Girard is dying, and now he must come to grips with how he has lived. In a number of significant ways he remains deeply alienated--he started cheating on his wife six months after they married; his chief accomplishment in life upon which he dwells and which forms a major theme of the film is his lifelong sexual escapades; he is estranged from his two children; he describes his work as a professor as total failure; he admits that he is scared of dying; and his son even has to pay some of his students to visit him in the hospital to assure him how sorely he will be missed. But his friends gather around him, they talk and celebrate, and he reconciles at some level with his two children. But is it believable that his son would really bypass bureaucrats and bribe union officials to get an entire unused floor of the hospital so Remy could have peace and quiet, that snorting heroin at his stage of the game is really such a great idea, and that his former wife would so graciously welcome his lovers at Remy's deathbed? Still, this is a powerful film about a date with destiny that, like Remy, we all have. He faced it head on and full throttle. In French with English subtitles.

Who are the Barbarians?.......2006-06-05

The European style Medicare system, the fair medical practice, free for all good Canadians fostered upon liberal society, it kills patients' everyday. If you learn nothing else from The Invasion of Barbarians, you will learn that Liberalism, Socialism, and Communism in every form destroy society, killing the innocent, transforming the naive into the corrupt. Am I wrong? Isn't this the lesson we learn from our dying Liberal Social Studies Professor, Remy?

Poor Remy, he's as liberal as his young piers at Berkley; yet they have won the Socialist beauty prize, The Pulitzer. He's a Canadian, so no wonder those statues go to Americans. Those ugly Americans down there take everything from the poor French speaking Quebecians. Nevertheless, if you want a brain scan on demand, cross the St Lawrence because it ain't gonna happen in the new Canada of diversity.

Remy is a child of the 60's and as an academic propagandizing to empty-headed freshmen, he like his piers hate George Bush. That is too easy to exploit for a Righty like myself. I have always understood the Liberal Elite to be contemptuous of anyone that disagrees with the geniuses of Socialism. And Remy's Liberal pals rain down Al Gore platitudes and disdain for America, those pesky, over-fed capitalists. Remy's elitist pals tell randy stories of ribald action amidst their class, the class of divorce and infidelity. They offer lovely bromides right out of a swanky yuppie magazine. Their children, well, they could turn out as genius commodity millionaires like Remy's son Sebastian, or they could be heroin addicts like cropped-hair Natalie.

I can't help but wonder if the Barbarians the director lambastes may be his own political caste.

Charlie Rose with Allan Sloan, Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind & Kurt Eichenwald; Ken Auletta; Dan Abrams (February 19, 2004)

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Charlie Rose with Allan Sloan, Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind & Kurt Eichenwald; Ken Auletta; Dan Abrams (February 19, 2004)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

A discussion of the indictment of Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, with Newsweek's Allan Sloan, Fortune Magazine's Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind and The New York Times' Kurt Eichenwald. The discussion continues with Ken Auletta of The New Yorker. Finally, MSNBC's Dan Abrams on the Martha Stewart trial.

The Decline Of The American Empire / The Barbarian Invasions (Original French Version)

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The Decline Of The American Empire / The Barbarian Invasions (Original French Version)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
ASIN: B000A2LTYE

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