Les invasions barbares (2003)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Denys Arcand

Writer:

Denys Arcand (writer)

Release Date:

24 September 2003 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

A provocative new comedy about sex, friendship, and all other things that invade our lives.

Plot:

During his final days, a dying man is reunited with old friends, former lovers, his ex-wife, and his estranged son.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Dying | Ex Wife | Cancer | Death

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 37 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Rémy Girard	...	Rémy
Stéphane Rousseau	...	Sébastien
Dorothée Berryman	...	Louise
Louise Portal	...	Diane
Dominique Michel	...	Dominique
Yves Jacques	...	Claude
Pierre Curzi	...	Pierre
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Nathalie
Marina Hands	...	Gaëlle
Toni Cecchinato	...	Alessandro
Mitsou	...	Ghislaine (as Mitsou Gélinas)
Sophie Lorain	...	First Lover
Johanne-Marie Tremblay	...	Sister Constance Lazure (as Johanne Marie Tremblay)
Denis Bouchard	...	Duhamel
Micheline Lanctôt	...	Nurse Carole

Also Known As:

Invasion of the Barbarians (International: English title)
The Barbarian Invasions (International: English title)
Las invasiones bárbaras (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
As Invasões Bárbaras (Brazil) [pt]
Barbaarien invaasiot (Finland) [fi]
Barbarernes invasion (Denmark) [da]
Barbarlarin istilasi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
De barbariska invasionerna (Sweden) [sv]
Die Invasion der Barbaren (Germany) [de]
I epelasi ton varvaron (Greece) [el]
Inwazja barbarzynców (Poland) [pl]
Le invasioni barbariche (Italy) [it]
Mina-san, sayônara (Japan) [ja]

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexual dialogue and drug content.

Runtime:

99 min | Canada:112 min (DVD version)

Country:

Canada | France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | France:U | Malaysia:18PL | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Spain:13 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Astral Films

Trivia:

It is the first Canadian film ever to win The Best French Film of the Year award at the Cesars (France's national film awards).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As two men play an arcade game, the bottom of the video screen says, "Press Start to Skip," clearly indicating that the shot is of a pre-game demo rather than that of someone actually playing the game.

Quotes:

Rémy: Contrary to belief, the 20th century wasn't that bloody. It's agreed that wars caused 100 million deaths. Add 10 million for the Russian gulags. The Chinese camps, we'll never know, but say 20 million. So 130, 145 million dead. Not all that impressive...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

L'amitié

a gem

I recently watched this film and was very impressed. The screenplay, acting and directing were all top-notch. It was at times funny, sad, tragic and thought-provoking. It touches on everything from drug-use, Canadian medicare, the child-father relationship and of course, past intimate relationships- not all they were cracked up to be! Denys Arcand is so very astute on all these fronts and wrote a fantastic screenplay for the wonderful cast of characters.

It has to be one of my all-time favourite DVD's of 2004.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see a riveting, quality film made in Canada. It deserved the Oscar!