Les invasions barbares (2003)

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:

Ex Wife | Dying | Friend | Death | Cancer

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:

The Barbarian Invasions (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Invasion of the Barbarians (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:

Pyramide Productions

Trivia:

It is the first sequel ever to win the Best Foreign Language Film award at the Oscars.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the opening scene, Louise is calling Sébastien, the screen states that it is 9:30 p.m. in Montréal and 2:30 p.m. in London. London is five hours ahead of Montréal time, not 17. The time in Montréal should thus either state 9:30 a.m. or the London time should state 2:30 a.m.

Quotes:

Rémy: We've been everything: separatists, supporters of independantists, sovereignists, sovereignity-associanists...
Pierre: At first, we were existentialists.
Dominique: We read Sartre and Camus.
Claude: Then Fanon, we became anti-colonialists.
Rémy: We read Marcuse and became Marxists.
Pierre: Marxist-Leninists.
Alessandro: Trotskyists.
Diane: Maoists.
Rémy: After Solzhenitsyn we changed, we became structuralists.
Pierre: Situationists.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.53)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Sonate Op. 32 No. 1

Recommended

I rented this movie last weekend. Not having heard anything about it, I was prepared for a middling effort and some mild entertainment.

I have to say that I was happily surprised by the quality of this film. It is a very moving piece. It touched upon so many facets of every day life - love, death, sex, fidelity, family, ambition, religion, loyalty, forgiveness, and redemption. It was handled in an understated way that allows the audience to think about the themes introduced without hitting them over the head with a message. The cast was really terrific, too. I would definitely recommend this for an indie-foreign film aficionado.