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Wednesday, December 18, 2024 |
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Wednesday, December 18, 2024 |
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| The Barbarian Invasions |  |
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Denys Arcand 
Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau, Dorothée Berryman, Louise Portal, Dominique Michel, Yves Jacques, Pierre Curzi, Marie-Josée Croze, Marina Hands, Toni Cecchinato 
2003 
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There may be no greater challenge in this world than confronting one's own mortality. But it's also a terrible trial for those looking on as death claims a family member or friend. Digging into such grave matters, Quebec writer/director Denys Arcand constructs his dripping-with-humanity drama "The Barbarian Invasions." Lusty university professor Rémy (Rémy Girard) is separated or alienated from family and friends until he's hospitalized with cancer. Only his impending demise precipitates bittersweet reunions with his ex-wife, ex-lovers, intellectual sparring partners, and his estranged son Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau). The son is a successful investment banker who left Canada to seek his fortune in Europe. His father's illness brings Sébastien back to the fold; it also inspires Rémy and those gathering around his sickbed to take stock of their lives, complete with socio-political discourse and randy reminiscence. Considering the long-standing friction between Sébastien and Rémy, there's little time for son and father to achieve genuine rapprochement, which brings quiet dramatic tension to the film. Arcand avoids cheap sentiment, strings up a little gallows humor and constructs a moving, multi-character portrait of people finding transcendence in the face of tragedy. | |||
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I'm Not There / Love In The Time Of Cholera / Gone Baby Gone / Delirious / 2 Days In Paris / more... |
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