The Barbarian Invasions

Today, I would like to introduce another Canadian movie, that is actually a Franco-Canadian coproduction :  The Barbarian Invasions.

This is a 2003 comedy-drama film, directed by Denys Arcand. This is actually the second film of a triptych directed by Denys Arcand, with "The Decline of the American Empire" in 1986, and "Days of Darkness" in 2007, which was chosen to close the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

So, "The Barbarian Invasion" narrates the story of Rémy, who is fighting against cancer. His ex-wife Louise asks their son Sebastien in an emergency to come back from London to Canada to visit his father. Sebastien (Stéphane Rousseau), who barely had any contact with his father for years, hesitates a little bit, before finally agreeing and coming with his French fiancée.

As soon as he arrives, he meets all the doctors to know exactly and understand his father’s health. In Canada, Health Services can be a little deficient, just like in the USA, depending a lot on your complementary health insurance, itself depending on your earnings. So, Sebastien, who had a successfull career in England, uses his power, relations and influence to overcome this unfair and discriminant health system, in order to provide his father with the best care and a little bit of happiness.

In the meantime, all his friends, family and ex-lovers come to visit Remy, knowing that he is about to live his last days. They all move into the cottage where the first film took place, and discuss what changed during these seventeen years, what they all became, did they all succeed to deal with their past problems and start to be happy and enjoy life… In a very comic way, they also talk about philosphy and past sexual exploits, in order to accompany Rémy in these last days with the best memories of his life, and make him smile until death.

I remember that this movie was such a shock. I really loved it, being both amusing and tragic. All the characters are extremely appealing, each one participating, in his own way, to helping Rémy to feel better and to overcome his fear of pain and death.

The film won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress Award for Marie-Josée Croze, who plays Nathalie. It also won the 2004 César Award for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

Has anyone seen it ? What did you think about it ?