The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'Empire Américain) (1986)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic][color=red]"The Decline of the American Empire" is a Canadian movie directed by Denys Arcand("Jesus of Montreal") about a group of friends who are all members of the intelligentsia in a university. In a gender role reversal, the men prepare… More
  [font=Century Gothic][color=red]"The Decline of the American Empire" is a Canadian movie directed by Denys Arcand("Jesus of Montreal") about a group of friends who are all members of the intelligentsia in a university. In a gender role reversal, the men prepare the food for dinner, while the women exercise in a gym. While all of this is going on, they discuss their sex lives in graphic detail. [/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=red][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=red]So, while this is an extremely talky movie("Intellectuals like to talk."), [/color][/font][font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]"The Decline of the American Empire" is a warm and witty meditation on the pleasures of life - namely, sex, food and friends. [/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]Two notes:[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]1. This movie was made in 1986, so it surprised me that there were references to AIDS. I know "An Early Frost" was on television the year before, but I don't think movies had really begun to consider AIDS until at least 1990.[/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font] [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]2. "The Barbarian Invasions" is a sequel to "Decline of the American Empire" but I don't think it's necessary to see the earlier movie first even though there might be more emotional involvement in the characters when watching "Barbarian Invasions." I saw "Barbarian Invasions" when it was first released a year and a half ago, so I don't think it mattered that much to me but I spent a good deal of "Decline of the American Empire" thinking about how young the characters looked... [/color][/font]

• Mark A

  
  A sad little film about a group of University professors, their wives, and friends who espouse typical '80s views on sex and love. The men share several boasts about their sexual conquests and the women, in a separate venue, talk about their loves. They come together to share a… More
  A sad little film about a group of University professors, their wives, and friends who espouse typical '80s views on sex and love. The men share several boasts about their sexual conquests and the women, in a separate venue, talk about their loves. They come together to share a meal and in the course of conversation a pre-emptive strike is launched. Surprisingly little fallout ensues. The "R" rating must be for the dialog, casual drug use, and sexual situations, certainly not for the brief, partial nudity, although there was plenty of opportunity for more. An interesting character study with an adequate cast. Somewhat cliched story and less than demonstrative emotions. The title derives from an opening interview where a visiting author explains that empires fall when the pursuit of personal happiness replaces sacrifice for the common good as a societal virtue. This viewer supposes the rest of the film is proof of that premise. Good, but not great, by any means.

• Alec B

  
  Its like "The Big Chill" in many respects except its in French and the characters have far more interesting things to say. I think the observations on human sexuality made in the film are still pretty accurate, I wasn't a big fan of how they handled the gay character… More
  Its like "The Big Chill" in many respects except its in French and the characters have far more interesting things to say. I think the observations on human sexuality made in the film are still pretty accurate, I wasn't a big fan of how they handled the gay character (but then it was 1986, and for that time it was pretty progressive) but overall I still think it works and holds up remarkably well over 20 years later

• Brian R

  
  I happened to see this picture again on the CBC and it's a bit humourous and a bit depressing(a twist occurs during the last act of the picture when an individual shows up at the door). The eight intellectuals(four men, four women)gather at a private home and just love to talk… More
  I happened to see this picture again on the CBC and it's a bit humourous and a bit depressing(a twist occurs during the last act of the picture when an individual shows up at the door). The eight intellectuals(four men, four women)gather at a private home and just love to talk about sex since sex to them is a game. I think the underline truth is they find no pleasure having it. One of my fav scenes in the picture is when the women wait at a gym where they use the swimming pool, the exercise machines and the sauna as settings to discuss the same things the men are talking about. Listening to their sexcapades, their vicious take on love and the way in which they all agree that brains come before bodies. Everything looks so perfect you'd think the characters in this film never have to work a day in their lives, but believe me these characters are on the verge of a head-on collision due to their promiscious sex talk. The only thing the eight intellectuals forgot to do(a wise decision) is to have sex with each other(sort of) as they all leave the house. I'm glad filmmaker Denys Arcand decided to end things on a more modest note.

• alan j

  
  All talk and very little action! The topic is sex, but this group of intellectuals are more apt to be fooling themselves by sleeping with one another in secret. I got bored with the whole thing as it meanders to a somewhat vague ending.