| The Barbarian Invasions | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
|
| Directed by | Denys Arcand |
| Produced by | Daniel Louis Denise Robert |
| Written by | Denys Arcand |
| Starring | Rémy Girard Stéphane Rousseau Dorothée Berryman Louise Portal Marie-Josée Croze Marina Hands |
| Distributed by | Miramax Films |
| Release date(s) | Cannes premiere: May 21, 2003 France: September 24, 2003 United States: November 21, 2003 United Kingdom: February 20, 2004 Australia: April 1, 2004 |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | Canada France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | US$5,000,000 |
| Preceded by | The Decline of the American Empire |
| Followed by | Days of Darkness |
The Barbarian Invasions (French: Les Invasions barbares) is a 2003 French Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Denys Arcand. It is the sequel to Arcand's earlier film The Decline of the American Empire and is followed by Days of Darkness. The film was produced by companies from both Canada and France, including Téléfilm Canada, Société Radio-Canada and Canal+. It was released in 2003 and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards in 2004.
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Continuing seventeen years after Arcand's 1986 film The Decline of the American Empire, the movie centres on an exploration of the characters first met in the original film and their children, newly introduced. The older generation are still largely socialist and proponents of Québécois nationalism, but both political and economic developments since the 1970s, as well as their own aging, make this stance seem somewhat anachronistic.
The plot revolves around the character Rémy's battle with terminal cancer, and the efforts of Sébastien, his estranged son to make his dying father more comfortable in his last days. Finally the father and son travel to Vermont in the United States to receive medical care.
Sébastien has reluctantly returned from London at the request of Rémy's ex-wife Louise, where he has a successful career in quantitative finance - anathema to his father's socialist tendencies. However, this background helps Sébastien to navigate and manipulate Quebec's failing healthcare system on his father's behalf. In the process, he also gathers the various other friends and family members from Rémy's past who come to visit and comfort him. During Rémy's last days, he and his friends travel to the cottage of the first film, and discuss philosophy, politics, and past sexual and intellectual exploits.
The film won France's 2004 César Award for Best Picture and Best Director, plus Best Original Screenplay for Denys Arcand. It also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards, the first Canadian film to actually win the award, in 2004 (Arcand had been previously nominated for 'Invasions' predecessor The Decline of the American Empire and Jesus of Montreal). As of 2006, this Oscar is on public display at the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City as part of an exhibit about the cinema of Quebec.
At the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, it won two awards: Best Screenplay Award and Best Actress Award for Marie-Josée Croze.[1]
The film also won five Jutra Awards and six Genie Awards, as well as prizes at other international festivals (Bangkok International Film Festival, Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, Toronto International Film Festival, Czech Lions).
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nowhere in Africa  Germany |
Academy Award
for Best Foreign Language Film 2003 |
Succeeded by The Sea Inside  Spain |
| Preceded by The Pianist |
César Award for Best
Film 2004 |
Succeeded by Games of Love and Chance |
|
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   | The Barbarian Invasions/Les Invasions Barbares at IMDB.com - Les invasions barbares (2003) |
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