Page

The Barbarian Invasions

Watch trailer

01:14

The Barbarian Invasions

Save

Summary

The members of an estranged family are reunited when one of them reveals he is dying of cancer, and wishes to share the wisdom of his years with his relatives. Canadian director Denys Arcand's Oscar-winning drama, starring Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Marie-Josee Croze and Marina Hands

Ad

Powered By

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Brian Pendreigh

Director Denys Arcand's follow-up to his acclaimed 1986 film The Decline of the American Empire could almost be viewed as an inadvertent companion piece to Tim Burton's Big Fish. It explores the same premise of a dying man reflecting on his life and reconciling with a son who is much more sensible than the parent. However, whereas in Burton's film the protagonist is a fantasist, here he is an intellectual - a womanising history professor who is dying of cancer. Old lovers and friends congregate to help Rémy (played by Rémy Girard) celebrate and analyse a life that has earned the disapproval of his son, financial whizzkid Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau). The Barbarian Invasions reunites the characters of the earlier film, but does not depend on the viewer's familiarity with them for its success in painting a picture of a bunch of hedonists facing the finite nature of time - a picture that is by turns funny and surprisingly poignant. Rémy's friendship with the junkie daughter of a former lover perfectly expresses this poignancy, while his ever-present dry wit steers the film clear of the dangerous waters of sentiment.

imdb-square

7.5/10

How to watch

Loading

Credits

Cast

rolenameRémyRémy GirardSébastienStéphane RousseauNathalieMarie-Josée CrozeGaëlleMarina HandsLouiseDorothée BerrymanSister ConstanceJohanne-Marie TremblayPierrePierre CurziClaudeYves JacquesDianeLouise PortalDominiqueDominique Michel

Show more

Crew

rolenameDirectorDenys Arcand

Details

Theatrical distributor

Artificial Eye

Released on

2004-02-20

Languages

English | French

Guidance

Contains drug abuse and some swearing.

Available on

video and DVD

Formats

Colour

Ad

Ad

Ad