The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
"Les invasions barbares" (original title)

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

Director:

Denys Arcand

Writer:

Denys Arcand

Stars:

Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau, Marie-Josée Croze

Won 1 Oscar. Another 41 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rémy Girard	...	Rémy
Stéphane Rousseau	...	Sébastien
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Nathalie
Marina Hands	...	Gaëlle
Dorothée Berryman	...	Louise
Johanne-Marie Tremblay	...	Sister Constance Lazure (as Johanne Marie Tremblay)
Pierre Curzi	...	Pierre Citrouillard
Yves Jacques	...	Claude
Louise Portal	...	Diane Leonard
Dominique Michel	...	Dominique St. Arnaud
Isabelle Blais	...	Sylvaine
Toni Cecchinato	...	Alessandro
Sophie Lorain	...	First Lover
Mitsou	...	Ghislaine (as Mitsou Gélinas)
Markita Boies	...	Nurse Suzanne

Storyline

In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', 50-something Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. He decides to make amends meet to his friends and family before he dies. He first tries to made peace with his ex-wife Louise, who 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 entire Canadian system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while he also tries to reunite his former friends, Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude to see their old friend before he passes on.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | dying | cancer | professor | liver | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual dialogue and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm Bim Distribuzione [it]

Country:

Canada France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

24 September 2003 (France)

Also Known As:

The Barbarian Invasions

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,499 (Hong Kong) (18 June 2004)

Gross:

$9,499 (Hong Kong) (18 June 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pyramide Productions, Cinémaginaire Inc., Astral Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 112 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It is the first Canadian film ever to win The Best French Film of the Year award at the Cesars (France's national film awards).

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Goofs

Remy was supposed to be taken to a hospital in Burlington, Vermont in a van in the company of his son, Sebastian. However, when the van arrives at the US border, the two huge highway signs clearly say Interstate 91 and US Route 5-Derby Line, indicating that it is actually the Stanstead-Derby Line border crossing. Normally, people do not take that route to get from Montreal to Burlington, which is located right on I-89, but would go via Philipsburg, QC and take Interstate 89 instead.

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Quotes

Hospital Patient Assistant: [speaking English] Good morning, guys. Welcome to America.
Rémy: [in English; sarcastic] Praise the Lord.
Sébastien: [also sarcastic] Hallelujah.

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Connections

Featured in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Piano Trio in C Major"
Music by Joseph Haydn (as Haydn)
Éditions Analekta
Courtesy of Intermède Pik Music

User Reviews

Just to clarify things

I come from Quebec and just wanted to clarify some things.

• I cannot believe some people can give a rating below 5 for this

movie. Were you looking for a Vin Diesel movie? This is a movie about real life, about human relationships. Its purpose is not entertainment, but reflexion. This is when a movie is considered art.

• Quebecers are not French. I'm speaking for myself but my ancestor

came here in Quebec in the 17th century from France. We do speak french, though (more than 7 million of us). Are Americans British?

• The Chinese "woman" named before the movie is Arcand's adopted

daughter.

• Yes the health care is that bad here. But then again where is it

perfect? The population is growing old, hospitals are overcrowded, our government spends most of our tax money for it and its still not enough. But at least we don't have to pay for health care. I'm happy to pay taxes that help elders and sick people get treated.

I didn't think this is a masterpiece, but it's the kind of movie that stays in your mind for a couple of days and makes you think about where we were 40 years ago, where we are now and where we are going in the future. This is certainly one of Arcand's best movies with Jesus of Montreal and Le declin... He is an actor director and it shows. He deserved that Oscar if not for this movie for one of those 3 movies.