\The Barbarian Invasions"" has an obvious conclusion, enigmatic characters and a heavy theme of mortality. Because of these defining features, the film, now playing at Westgate Art Cinema, 340 Westgate Mall, is fantastic.
From the carefully crafted generational conflicts to the strength of its secondary characters, it manages to combine a family portrait with a piercing evaluation of
death and life.
The movie picks up where director Denys Arcand left off in his 1986 production, ""The Decline of the American Empire."" Remy (Remy Girard), a protagonist from ""Empire,"" returns to resolve his early hedonism and find some peace in his final days. As inoperable cancer consumes his body, Remy's ex-wife Louise (Dorothee Berryman) brings their son Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) to Montreal to settle the differences between them.
Along with his with son, old friends and mistresses from Remy's past join him at his deathbed. Remy reveals his marriage to Louise has been anything but faithful as he discusses the undergraduates he has slept with when he was a professor. Though Remy has always put his son at a distance, Sebastien recruits Nathalie (Marie-Josee Croze), a heroin addict, to ease Remy's suffering.
When Nathalie enters the picture, the defiance of Remy is exchanged to a measured dose of redemption and, eventually, contrition. Because she is the daughter of one of Remy's former mistresses, her role as angel of mercy makes her friendship with the dying man seem like an act of forgiveness. Eventually their differences are overtaken by their similarities. Nathalie acknowledges she could overdose at any point, and Remy understands that his life may end sometime after hers.
This collision of the expectations of young people and the failures of the aged provides ""The Barbarian Invasions"" with its weight. Where Nathalie's life is tragic, Remy's is full of regret. The two circle around each other and illuminate the decay that is in both. The young woman and old man provide the central disparity that fuels the rest of the movie.
In another instance of a generational conflict, Sebastien and Remy highlight the differences between fathers and sons. Sebastien has video games, CDs and heroin while Remy clings to books, old friends and marijuana. The resignation of the elder is thrown against the defiance of the younger. Where Remy's arrogance comes with memory, Sebastien's derives from success. Thankfull,y the performances of Girard and Rousseau make the father and son appear like they're carrying their shared history together.
Every performance in ""The Barbarian Invasions"" is strong and the cast works just as well as an ensemble as it does in pairs. Remy's old friends have their nuances and habits, as well as a few good lines apiece. Even people in the background, like a police detective and a nurse, come through with conviction.
Along with numerous other honors, ""The Barbarian Invasions"" picked up this year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The prize was well deserved. Every moment in ""The Barbarian Invasions"" is perfectly crafted.
