English title: Barbarian Invasions (The)
Genre: social and psychological drama
Director: Denys Arcand
Release: 2003
Studio: Cinemaginaire, Pyramide - Miramax
Rating: R
MBiS score: 8.2/10
Facing Death and Family
Seventeen years have passed since the DÉCLIN DE L’EMPIRE AMÉRICAIN and rambunctious Rémy (Rémy Girard) now experiences health problems serious enough to warrant hospitalization. Knowing Rémy, you can guess our proud epicurean finds no joy in his situation but nothing, it seems, irritates him more than facing Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau), his unloved son who has rushed home from London to care for him. With Dorothée Berryman (Louise, Rémy’s ex-wife), Marie-Josée Croze (Nathalie), Marina Hands (Gaëlle, Sébastien’s fiancée), Johanne Marie Tremblay (Sister Constance), Pierre Curzi (Pierre), Yves Jacques (Claude), Louise Portal (Diane), Dominique Michel (Dominique), Toni Cecchinato (Alessandro), Mitsou Gélinas (Ghislaine), Isabelle Blais (Sylvaine, Rémy’s daughter), Markita Boies (nurse Suzanne), Jean-Marc Parent, Denis Bouchard, Roy Dupuis and Yves Desgagnés. Music by Pierre Aviat.
The Oscar-winning sequel to the DÉCLIN opens with the same filmmaking trick as the original, a long and eventful travelling shot depicting the crowded corridors of a metropolitan hospital. Right then and there, it is quite clear that Denys Arcand has chosen to decry Québec’s decaying health care system, its inefficiencies, power struggles and perceived insensibility toward the very people it has pledged to care for. To pull off such an ambitious agenda, Arcand had to cover a lot of ground, which explains why his work feels breathless and somewhat disjointed in its first forty minutes as he busily fires at multiple targets and hits them with consistency and malice. Later on, as the story slows down and focuses on Rémy’s predicament and his son’s efforts to comfort him, the movie will build an emotional charge that peaks in the final minutes, not unlike C.R.A.Z.Y. in a different but equally affecting crescendo. It all ends with a plane taking off and a heavenly voice singing in the background… a truly wondrous and mesmerizing send-off.
To weave his tale of structural breakdown and generations in conflict, Arcand used gravitas, humour and a surprising tenderness that his cast conveyed with competence and gusto, especially Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau and Marie-Josée Croze, a Cannes winner who displays genuine star power as Rémy’s companion in pain. The gang from the DÉCLIN, older and wiser now, offers able support while the next generation stakes a rightful place in the narrative. On the negative side, one early remark by Rémy puzzled me because it seemed to contradict his character and I was also bothered by a few weak lines in the dialogue but these minor flaws can easily be forgiven. By the way, I loved the movie’s excellent and sombre score.
That being settled, let’s tackle the ultimate question: which one is the better film… the DÉCLIN or LES INVASIONS? At the risk of going against a recent survey of Québec’s most celebrated films, I would readily pick the latter because of its resonance, varied tone and undeniable brilliance. With his sequel, Arcand endeared us to characters who were less than appealing in their younger incarnations and also added an element of urgency and finality to his statement on the 80s. For such a tour de force, Arcand deserves our lasting appreciation.
MBiS
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