Synopsis:
Denys Arcand's THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS is a story about the humor, hope and unspoken bonds that hold family and friends together against the onslaughts of life in our contemporary times. Winner of...
Denys Arcand's THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS is a story about the humor, hope and unspoken bonds that hold family and friends together against the onslaughts of life in our contemporary times. Winner of two major awards at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the film merges Arcand's alternately witty and tender storytelling style with his most deeply emotional tale to date: that of a father and son who think they have nothing left in common until – hit with a major crisis --they learn to share an insatiable appetite for life.
It has been years since Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau), a wealthy London investment banker, has been home to visit his parents in Canada. He has been avoiding a run-in with his father, Rémy (Rémy Girard), a spirited and lustful Professor of History who long ago divorced Sébastien's loving mother Louise (Dorothée Berryman.) Meanwhile, his sister has left land entirely, sailing across the high seas in a yacht. But when a crisis calls Sébastien home to Quebec, father and son must confront one another at last. Right off the bat, their reunion is a bust. Equally stubborn, the two men cannot see eye to eye. To Sébastien, Rémy is unreasonable and cold. To Rémy, Sébastien is a symbol of the coming “barbarian invasions,” of all the negative changes in the world.
But desperate to bring his father some kind of happiness, Sébastien pours his energy into an all-consuming mission: to reunite the “merry band” that marked Rémy's complicated past – friends, colleagues and former mistresses included. In the process, Sébastien discovers more about his father than he ever imagined, more about what he wants and hope for in his own life, and more about the pleasures of wine, women, conversation and the love and compassion of good friends. THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS was awarded both the Best Screenplay Award (for Denys Arcand) and the Best Actress Award (for Marie-Josée Croze, in the role of a young drug addict who offers unusual assistance to Rémy) at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was an audience favorite.
Written and directed by Arcand, the film is produced by Denise Robert and Daniel Louis. The cast includes some of Quebec's most beloved and respected actors, including Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau, Dorothée Berryman, Marie-Josée Croze, Dominique Michel, Louise Portal and Yves Jacques. The film also reunites Denys Arcand with cinematographer Guy DuFaux, who shot “The Decline of the American Empire” and brings a new, contemporary look to THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, as well as editor Isabelle Dedieu and costume designer Denis Sperdouklis. -- © Miramax
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