Critic Reviews
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Ted Shen, Chicago Reader
Despite an uneven cast, Arcand finds a tonal balance between sentimental and cynical that keeps the conversations real and heart wrenching.
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Lisa Nesselson, Variety
A full-bodied, funny and gloriously unpretentious ode to family, friendship and the meaning of life.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Both the comedy and the weepy moments tend towards the trite, but the film is directed and performed with such brio and manipulative skill that one eventually succumbs to its somewhat dubious charms.
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Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
A nicely balanced blend of sentiment and acrid wit.
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Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Arcand avoids the temptation of turning the story into a tear-jerker.
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Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
If you haven't seen the original, which, if memory serves, was billed as 'The Big Chill with a doctorate,' no worries. Arcand's follow-up stands alone as a universal story of generational reconciliation.
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Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"The Barbarian Invasions" is an intriguing meditation on the inevitable fall of ideologies under the pressure of nature's laws.
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Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Humour, whether darkly observant or skilfully witty, twines through the film like a confidently creeping ivy, growing out of the characters quite naturally.
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Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
The film may be more of a sad commentary on the human condition than traditionally sad in the manner Arcand intended.
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Patrick Peters, Empire Magazine
So many fascinating ideas are raised here that Arcand's decision to explore them within the context of a self-satisfied soap is disappointing.
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Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
The film's emotional ending is deeply felt and powerful, examining the pain and the humor of life without pathos or melodrama. As such, the film resonates and lingers.
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Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...an almost documentary truth to the performances, a un-movieish consistency of tone that makes it easy to forget that we're watching actors.
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Jay Antani, Los Angeles Alternative
...jerkily paced, dramatically obvious, and seems penned by a self-serious 16-year-old
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Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
Miramax's DVD is sparse, but the movie stands alone quite well
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
By the end of the film, Remy's passing is almost an afterthought; but the innate goodness of people lingers on.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
The occasion is death, but the movie is a joyous celebration of life.
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Donald Munro, Fresno Bee
You get to experience the sentiment without drowning in it; and you get a sharp-edged ideological exploration of living (and dying) in modern times.
Read all 17 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Much more moving and complex that the first picture, Danys Arcand bring these delight characters to the screen again, together with past, present and future sad ghosts.
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A French Canadian guy is dying slowly so his rich son sets it up so he goes out after his old friends party together one last time (like that Greek philosopher guy ... but with woman). Lotsa talk about the good ol'days and sniffles later and everyone nods their head and says… More
A French Canadian guy is dying slowly so his rich son sets it up so he goes out after his old friends party together one last time (like that Greek philosopher guy ... but with woman). Lotsa talk about the good ol'days and sniffles later and everyone nods their head and says goodbye. Tries maybe too hard to be meaningful, like a Hallmark card with nothing personal written on it.
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A truly outstanding film that leaves you with a great deal to digest. It does have its lulls, but the excellent acting and the double-edged sword that is Arcand's script more than make up for it. To the very end, you don't know who to take seriously and who to dislike, and… More
A truly outstanding film that leaves you with a great deal to digest. It does have its lulls, but the excellent acting and the double-edged sword that is Arcand's script more than make up for it. To the very end, you don't know who to take seriously and who to dislike, and the end result is a moving experience sprinkled with some of the darker comedy you'll ever see on film. It's a great creator of cynics, and while you may think you get what you want with the ending, you may not want what you got. It's brilliant.
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The guy who played the son looked a LOT like Zach Braff. All the themes - whether concerning the culture clash between the liberal and conservative, or the moral question of using drugs - gracefully intertwine to make this dazzling, dazzling gem of a film. I REALLY wish I… More
The guy who played the son looked a LOT like Zach Braff. All the themes - whether concerning the culture clash between the liberal and conservative, or the moral question of using drugs - gracefully intertwine to make this dazzling, dazzling gem of a film. I REALLY wish I could've seen "The Decline of the American Empire" prior to this so that I could've gotten to know the characters a little better, but this stands on its own extremely well.
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Full of gallic charm and wit with a stunning performance from Remy Girard
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Didn't find this funny at first but as the film progressed, I started to laugh. Particularly the character of remy and his view on life. the relationship between remy and his son, Sebastian was something else done very well.
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Bloody awesome filmage. A man dying sets things right and talks to family, friends and ex lovers. Revealing and a nice look at death and the niceness of life.
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The sequel to the Decline of the American Empire takes the life pondering group of friends into the age of death and decay and their attempts to embrace it with dignity. A treatise on relationships and how complicated ones end up being simple when faced with the end of life.
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An outstanding piece of French-Canadian cinema. Wonderfully written and performed. It was the smaller simple moments that touched me but I was absorbed in this film right from the start.
One of those films that depicts death and dying yet is incredibly life-affirming (and not in that… More
An outstanding piece of French-Canadian cinema. Wonderfully written and performed. It was the smaller simple moments that touched me but I was absorbed in this film right from the start.
One of those films that depicts death and dying yet is incredibly life-affirming (and not in that obvious "bucket list" kind of way.)
Anxious to see "The Decline of the American Empire" also written and directed by Denys Arcand, it's predecessor, which takes place 17 years earlier, which I meant to see first. But y'know life's like that.
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It Is Good, Like It Or Not People!
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Excluding the overt attack against socialized medicine, this movie takes a unique view on father son relationships. Remy the intellectual has traveled the full spectrum of intellectualism and fervent believer in socialism and his son Sabasian who typical of his son is a successful… More
Excluding the overt attack against socialized medicine, this movie takes a unique view on father son relationships. Remy the intellectual has traveled the full spectrum of intellectualism and fervent believer in socialism and his son Sabasian who typical of his son is a successful pragmatic capitalist. There is no real change in their relationship except that they both basically come to terms with being around each other and end they end the son tries to pay his debt to his father. Remy is terminally ill and trapped in his poorly functioning social medicine system in Canada. Only through bribery and several drives across the border to the US is Sabastian able to find adequate medical care for his father. He even bribes several of his father's disinterested college student to visit in the hospital. In summation, if you can tolerate (or maybe enjoy) the virulent attacks on the state of Canadian socialized medicine the story return a soul-wrenching but realistic portrayal of a Father-Son relationship.
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I can see why this movie won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film in 2004. Anyone who has a lost a loved one to cancer or any other disease will be moved to tears while watching this film. I highly recommend this film...but get out the kleenex box.
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A witty,eccentric dialogue film,recalling the countless heroes of Rohmer's...aging as the protagonist jumped from a Clarie's Knee to the Canadian landscape.Brilliant method acting and improvisation at the same time,a touching screenplay and a great Croze,for it might not be… More
A witty,eccentric dialogue film,recalling the countless heroes of Rohmer's...aging as the protagonist jumped from a Clarie's Knee to the Canadian landscape.Brilliant method acting and improvisation at the same time,a touching screenplay and a great Croze,for it might not be the peak of Arcand but still fascinates with an intellectual quality of words and conceptions.
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Denys Arcand's celebration of life in the face of death is at once funny, snide and moving, and perfectly presents French Canada's joie de vivre in a deeply heartfelt manner. It's even complete with the requisite shot of gorgeous Canadian fall colours!
Read all 14 featured audience ratings
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