Les Invasions barbares
Encyclopedia
The Barbarian Invasions is a 2003 French Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Denys Arcand
. It is the sequel
to Arcand's earlier film The Decline of the American Empire and is followed by Days of Darkness. The film was produced by companies from both Canada and France
, including Telefilm Canada
, Société Radio-Canada and Canal+
. It was released in 2003 and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
at the 76th Academy Awards
in 2004.
The Decline of the American Empire, the film centres on an exploration of the characters first met in the original film and their children, newly introduced. The older generation are still largely social-democrats
and proponents of Quebec nationalism
, but both political and economic developments after the “Quiet Revolution
” of the 1960s, as well as their own aging, make their left-wing stance seem somewhat anachronistic.
The plot revolves around the character Rémy's battle with terminal cancer
, and the efforts of Sébastien, his estranged son to make his dying father more comfortable in his last days. Finally the father and son travel to Vermont in the United States to receive medical care.
Sébastien, at the request of Rémy's ex-wife Louise, has reluctantly returned from London
where he has a successful career in quantitative finance - anathema to his father's socialist persuasions. However, this background helps Sébastien to navigate and manipulate Quebec's healthcare system (portrayed as somewhat overloaded in the film) to secure better care for his father. In the process, he also gathers the various other friends and family members from Rémy's past who come to visit and comfort him. During Rémy'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.
reported that 82% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 123 reviews. Metacritic
reports that the film has an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 35 reviews. Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun Times gave the movie four stars and called it "a movie with brains, indignation, irony and idealism." Conversely, Peter Bradshaw
, writing for The Guardian, disdained the movie, calling it "grotesquely overpraised," "shot through with middlebrow sophistication, boorish cynicism, unfunny satire, a dash of fatuous anti-Americanism and unthinkingly reactionary sexual politics."
for Best Picture and Best Director, plus Best Original Screenplay for Denys Arcand. It also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
at the 76th Academy Awards
, the first Canadian film to actually win the award, in 2004 (Arcand had been previously nominated for 'Invasions' predecessor The Decline of the American Empire and Jesus of Montreal
).
At the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
, it won two awards: Best Screenplay
Award and Best Actress
Award for Marie-Josée Croze
.
The film also won five Jutra Award
s and six Genie Award
s, as well as prizes at other international festivals (Bangkok International Film Festival, Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, Toronto International Film Festival, Czech Lions).
Denys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004 for The Barbarian Invasions...
. It is the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Arcand's earlier film The Decline of the American Empire and is followed by Days of Darkness. The film was produced by companies from both Canada and France
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
, including Telefilm Canada
Telefilm Canada
Telefilm Canada or Téléfilm Canada is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada.It is the primary federal cultural agency dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian audiovisual industry....
, Société Radio-Canada and Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
. It was released in 2003 and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 76th Academy Awards
76th Academy Awards
The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
in 2004.
Plot
Continuing seventeen years after Arcand's 1986 film1986 in film
-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
The Decline of the American Empire, the film centres on an exploration of the characters first met in the original film and their children, newly introduced. The older generation are still largely social-democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and proponents of Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
, but both political and economic developments after the “Quiet Revolution
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution was the 1960s period of intense change in Quebec, Canada, characterized by the rapid and effective secularization of society, the creation of a welfare state and a re-alignment of politics into federalist and separatist factions...
” of the 1960s, as well as their own aging, make their left-wing stance seem somewhat anachronistic.
The plot revolves around the character Rémy's battle with terminal cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and the efforts of Sébastien, his estranged son to make his dying father more comfortable in his last days. Finally the father and son travel to Vermont in the United States to receive medical care.
Sébastien, at the request of Rémy's ex-wife Louise, has reluctantly returned from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he has a successful career in quantitative finance - anathema to his father's socialist persuasions. However, this background helps Sébastien to navigate and manipulate Quebec's healthcare system (portrayed as somewhat overloaded in the film) to secure better care for his father. In the process, he also gathers the various other friends and family members from Rémy's past who come to visit and comfort him. During Rémy'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.
Cast
- Rémy GirardRémy GirardRémy Girard is a Canadian actor and former television host from Quebec.-Acting career:He played the role of Rémy, the main character, who is dying of terminal cancer, in the Canadian film Les Invasions barbares by director Denys Arcand. This film was awarded the 2003 Academy Award for best...
as Rémy - Dominique MichelDominique MichelDominique Michel, OC, CQ is a Quebec comedian, actress, singer and artist.- Biography :...
as Dominique - Dorothée BerrymanDorothée BerrymanDorothée Berryman is a noted Canadian actress and singer.- Biography :Born in Quebec City, Quebec, she has played roles in many stage productions, films, and television series including The Red Violin, Rivière-des-Jérémie, Le Déclin de l'empire américain, Les Invasions barbares, Scanners II: The...
as Louise - Louise PortalLouise PortalLouise Portal is a Canadian actress, film director, singer and writer. She won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film The Decline of the American Empire, and was a nominee for Best Actress for Sous-sol.Her other film roles have included Séraphin: un homme et son...
as Diane - Pierre CurziPierre CurziPierre Curzi is an actor, screenwriter and politician in Quebec, Canada. He is the Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Borduas in the Montérégie region south of Montreal...
as Pierre - Yves JacquesYves JacquesYves Jacques is a Québécois actor.- Biography :Since 2001, he has toured the world in two shows by Robert Lepage, La face cachée de la lune and Le Projet Andersen, where he played all the roles....
as Claude - Stéphane RousseauStéphane RousseauStéphane Rousseau is a Québécois actor and comedian. He starred in the Academy Award winning film The Barbarian Invasions . He has also been in Asterix at the Olympic Games...
as Sébastien - Marie-Josée CrozeMarie-Josée Croze-Career:Croze was born in Montreal, QC. She won the award for Best Actress at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in The Barbarian Invasions. She was cast by prominent Hollywood director Steven Spielberg for his film Munich which was released in December 2005...
as Nathalie - Mitsou GélinasMitsouMitsou Annie Marie Gélinas is a Canadian pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host, and actress...
as Ghislaine - Micheline LanctôtMicheline LanctôtMicheline Lanctôt is an actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician.-Biography:Lanctôt's post-secondary education was in music, fine arts and theatre at Collège Jésus-Marie in Outremont, and in art history before switching to film animation, which she...
as Nurse Carole - Johanne-Marie Tremblay as Sister Constance
- Roy DupuisRoy DupuisRoy Dupuis is a Canadian actor best known for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series La Femme Nikita...
as Narcotics Officer Gilles Levac - Marina HandsMarina Hands- Biography :Hands is the daughter of British director Terry Hands and French actress Ludmila Mikaël, and the granddaughter of painter Pierre Dmitrienko. She studied acting at the Cours Florent and the CNSAD in France, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in England...
as Gaëlle
Reception
The Barbarian Invasions has received positive reviews from numerous critics. As of January 2010, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 82% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 123 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reports that the film has an average score of 71 out of 100, based on 35 reviews. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun Times gave the movie four stars and called it "a movie with brains, indignation, irony and idealism." Conversely, Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
, writing for The Guardian, disdained the movie, calling it "grotesquely overpraised," "shot through with middlebrow sophistication, boorish cynicism, unfunny satire, a dash of fatuous anti-Americanism and unthinkingly reactionary sexual politics."
Awards
The film won France's 2004 César AwardCésar Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
for Best Picture and Best Director, plus Best Original Screenplay for Denys Arcand. It also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 76th Academy Awards
76th Academy Awards
The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
, the first Canadian film to actually win the award, in 2004 (Arcand had been previously nominated for 'Invasions' predecessor The Decline of the American Empire and Jesus of Montreal
Jesus of Montreal
-Plot and allegory:The film centers on a group of actors in Montreal, Canada who are gathered by Daniel, an actor hired by a Roman Catholic site of pilgrimage to present a Passion play in its gardens....
).
At the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
2003 Cannes Film Festival
The 2003 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Elephant by Gus Van Sant.-Jury:* Patrice Chéreau, President * Aishwarya Rai * Meg Ryan * Karin Viard...
, it won two awards: Best Screenplay
Best Screenplay Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Screenplay Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival...
Award and Best Actress
Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actress Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of films at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.-Award Winners:-External links:* * ....
Award for Marie-Josée Croze
Marie-Josée Croze
-Career:Croze was born in Montreal, QC. She won the award for Best Actress at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in The Barbarian Invasions. She was cast by prominent Hollywood director Steven Spielberg for his film Munich which was released in December 2005...
.
The film also won five Jutra Award
Jutra Award
The Jutra Award is a Canadian annual cinema award that recognizes talent and achievement in the mainly francophone feature film industry in the province of Quebec...
s and six Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
s, as well as prizes at other international festivals (Bangkok International Film Festival, Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, Toronto International Film Festival, Czech Lions).