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The Barbarian Invasions [2004] [DVD]
 
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The Barbarian Invasions [2004] [DVD]

DVD ~ Remy Girard
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Product details

  • Actors: Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Dorothee Berryman, Louise Portal, Dominique Michel
  • Directors: Denys Arcand
  • Format: PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English, French
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Artificial Eye
  • DVD Release Date: 28 Jun 2004
  • Run Time: 99 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000260NM2
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 15,056 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Product Description
Denys Arcand's Oscar-winning (for Best Foreign Language Film) drama is a life-affirming tale of love, family and friendship that features many of the cast and characters from his breakthrough film 'The Decline of the American Empire'. After years of indulging in his hedonistic lust for life and women, Rémy (Rémy Girard) is taken ill, an event that prompts a reunion with his ex-wife and estranged son Sébastien. As father and son learn to set aside their differences, Sébastien moves heaven and earth to make his father s life more comfortable, calling upon the unorthodox help of childhood friend Nathalie (Cannes Best Actress Marie-José Croze) and Rémy's close friends and past mistresses. A brilliantly written and engagingly acted exploration of personal, political and sexual mores, Arcand's acclaimed film is witty, moving and hugely entertaining.

Synopsis
Canada's Denys Arcand delivers a beautiful film with THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, the story of a man on his deathbed who is joined by his distant son and all his closest friends throughout the last--wonderful and loving--days of his life. A follow-up to 1986's THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, the same characters from that movie reappear this time around. Now Remy (Remy Girard), the horny history teacher, is hospitalized and in pain. But at the urging of his wife Louise (Dorothee Berryman), Remy's son Sebastian (Stephane Rousseau) comes to his aid. Sebastian is a banker who tosses cash around, paying hospital administrators, union workers, Remy's former students, and even a local heroin dealer, to help make his father's last days of life as comfortable as possible. Along with this financial commitment also comes love, and the relationship between this father and son is touching. The sometimes raucous and comic mood of the film, generated by perverted stories and silly jokes, stands in striking contrast to this serious story of life, sickness, and dying. But it is that balance, which Arcand keeps so neatly in check, that makes THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS a truly great cinematic feat, as well as a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language Film 2003 and Denys Arcand and Marie-Josee Croze won awards at Cannes too for Best Screenplay and Best Actress respectively.

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A touching and sensitive voyage of self-discovery, 3 Sep 2004
By Haitham (Glasgow, Lanarkshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This, unlike the title suggests, is a deep and moving film following the last few weeks in the life of our terminally ill, womanising hero, Remy.
The story centres around Remy as he spends time with his old friends and mistresses, as well as getting to know for the first time his estranged son. Remy is struggling with the fact that he knows he has reached the end of his life, and still feels like he hasn't learned or accomplished anything.
However, after many scenes of fascinating reminiscing and discussion, Remy comes to realise what his, and everyone else's life is really worth.
I found this film extremely moving as well as interesting. The 'barbarian invasions' of the title seem to refer only to the invasions of the modern world, be it his son, the capitalist, the drug dealers now invading the city, or the terrorists we see on the news who are now bringing an end to the way of life enjoyed by Remy's generation.
This is one of those films where not a lot actually happens, so if you're a die hard action fan, this isn't for you. In fact, the only reason this doesn't merit 5 stars (so close) is because it can, at some infrequent points, seem a bit academic. But for everyone who can appreciate brilliant dialogue and outstanding directing and acting, I'm sure you will find something to love about this film.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great movie, but hits some hot buttons, 14 Feb 2006
By Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
A somewhat lovable epicurean womanizer (Rémy Girard as Rémy) is dying of cancer in the hallway of a crowded Quebec hospital. His accomplished millionaire son Sebastian (Stéphane Rousseau) decides that as a fitting last gesture of love for his partially estranged father he will make dad's last days as happy and comfortable as possible. To this end he gets him not just a private room, but a private floor in the basement of the hospital by bribing the right people. He recruits a handful of Rémy's old friends and ex-lovers to come and visit him amid sumptuous servings of food and wine. He pays some ex-students to come and remember their not exactly beloved teacher. And finally he gets a strayed family member Nathalie (Marie-Josee Croze who won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her performance) to procure and administer heroin to Rémy for his pain.

Girard is excellent in the part (although he carries a bit too much weight for a guy about to die of cancer); but what makes this an outstanding film is the award-winning script and direction by Denys Arcand. This is a movie that is witty, honest, funny, sentimental (but not too sentimental), deeply human, candid about life, love, sex, and death, and filled with the kind of sharp, satirical dialogue that all screenwriters wish they had the ability to write. However this movie will offend some people, which accounts for some of the nasty reviews.

First, there is the little matter of heroin. Arcand makes the experience seem like something wonderful and absolutely necessary in a medical sense. But a closer look reveals that this justified use is only for Rémy who is a terminal patient in excruciating pain. Note that Nathalie is a junkie who is ruining her life and knows it.

Second, there is the candor about Rémy's sex life and the many risque jokes including some from an old gay couple that may offend some mainstream viewers. And there is an elitist feel to the intellectual atmosphere of the gathered friends that will not set well in America's (or Canada's) Heartland. And some will be offended by the implication from Sebastian's arrogant and successful behavior that money can buy almost anything and that corruption is the order of the day. And finally there is the matter of euthanasia which some viewers find immoral.

However this is not primarily a political movie. The dialogue that refers to the evolution of some of the characters from socialists to deconstructionists, is kind of like somebody from say Texas recalling that "I used to be long-haired hippy but now I'm clean-shaven evangelical." It's appropriately atmospheric talk from Rémy's academic world. The real story here is about how to live and how to die. Arcand's prescription is to live life to the fullest and to die peacefully in your sleep. This is the civilized way, and that is part of the reason that the film is ironically called "The Barbarian Invasions" (from a line in the film). When it comes to civilization the barbarians are always at the gate.

Of course if we want to get symbolic, the barbarian invasions could include the cancer itself, especially when we consider that Rémy is a history professor who has spent a lifetime reading, writing and lecturing about barbarian invasions. (By the way, whether the 9/11 attacks on the US are barbarian invasions is again beside the point of the movie.)

Bottom line: this film won a slew of international awards including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2004. It is one of the best films I've seen in a while. I would rate it in my top one hundred of all time.

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1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous acting create a warm film, 8 Feb 2005
By Mr. Shumit Rehman "shumboom" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Well you have to buy this if you are keen on Foreign movies OPscar winners. The DVD was the first I saw this film and I think the film deserves to be seen in a cinema, possibly one of those claustrophobic arthouse cinemas. The film itself is claustrophobic , with most of the action taking place in the hospital room of a dying lothario. Nice script with some odd twists that are never explained or resolved helps. The DVD extras are not great - really you are buying the disc for the film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars "The Barbarian Invasions" is emotional and highly thought-provoking
The most skilful attribute of "The Barbarian Invasions" is the clever way in which the film intertwines a personal story with our collective history. Read more
Published on 1 Jul 2007 by Jenny J.J.I.

5.0 out of 5 stars Death of a bon vivant
Infrequently, if at all, does a film for general release revolve around normal, natural death, i.e. one not brought on by fanged space aliens, world-renting cataclysms, wild... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2006 by Joseph Haschka

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