Fresh
Despite an uneven cast, Arcand finds a tonal balance between sentimental and cynical that keeps the conversations real and heart wrenching.
Ted Shen, Chicago Reader
The Barbarian Invasions
A comedy about sex, friendship, and all other things that invade our lives.
2003 · 1h 39m · R
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
Denys Arcand
Overview
In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', middle-aged Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. His ex-wife, Louise, asks their estranged son, Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the Canadian healthcare system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while reuniting some of Remy's old friends, including Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude, who return to see their friend before he passes on.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
81%
Tomatometer
Fresh
A full-bodied, funny and gloriously unpretentious ode to family, friendship and the meaning of life.
Lisa Nesselson, Variety
Fresh
Both the comedy and the weepy moments tend towards the trite, but the film is directed and performed with such brio and manipulative skill that one eventually succumbs to its somewhat dubious charms.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
A nicely balanced blend of sentiment and acrid wit.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh
Arcand avoids the temptation of turning the story into a tear-jerker.
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
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