Les Invasions barbares (Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau)
In the grand scheme of things, it is most difficult to gauge the value of the life of one person. If a man who has spent much of his life making his family suffer through his philandering and a rough exterior is nevertheless surrounded by his family and friends and wished well on his deathbed, has his life been a success? What effect has his life and death left on the world? What is his legacy? These are the questions asked in Denys Arcand's magnificent film The Barbarian Invasions, a powerful mix of drama, tragedy, comedy and social commentary.
The title refers to the post-9/11 onset of outsiders attacking American soil, but also how the rough, external factors in our lives tend to affect our insides over time. Rémy Girard plays Rémy, a former university professor who has advanced, terminal cancer. He asks his ex-wife (Dorothée Berryman) to track down his son and daughter for his final few days. The daughter is stuck at sea and can only communicate via satellite, but the son Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau) catches the first flight from England to Canada with his fiancée. Sébastien is a self-made millionaire, and immediately sets to work improving his father's environment by having professionals look at his father's charts, and moving his father downstairs to an evacuated part of the hospital.
There's a lot of friction between the two men, particularly at first as parental choices and lifestyles are brought into question. Sébastien continues to attempt to pacify the tension by contacting his father's old friends and having them fly to the hospital to visit. The son is soon informed the only thing strong enough to help ease his father's pain is heroin, so he first goes straight to a police station to ask for some, then later has Rémy's friend's daughter (Marie-Josée Croze) supply the drug since she is a dealer and a user. When the end is near, the entire group retires to a countryhouse, in some highly eloquent and comical passages.
It is something of a miracle that the Barbarian Invasions deals with as many themes and subjects as it does. It makes brief, often impartial comments on such topics as labour unions, the current state of illegal drug trade, Canada's health care system, and Quebec's ongoing debate on separatism. These major issues are interwoven into the story without sacrificing the main thrust of the narrative. There are also allusions to history, literature, university education, and philsophical and moral questions about our existence. These elements ensure the inevitable conclusion to the drama does not slip into melodrama or reek of manipulation. As a result, the cathartic dénouement strikes the perfect tone.
It's clear that writer/director Denys Arcand has crafted a superior motion picture, but it is the one-two punch of an equally strong ensemble that makes it so poignant and memorable. Rémy Girard is that rare kind of flawed, sinful curmudgeon who has an answer for everything except the enigma of himself; consequently, he is ultimately lovable. Stéphane Rousseau brings great contrast to the film by giving the son a hectic, non-affected exterior. And all of the friends who visit the dying man turn in spirited, realistic performances, genuinely delivering their often blunt dialogue with finesse and confidence.
In the wrong hands, the movie could have steered dangerously off the roads. Death in cinema is often portrayed as something tidy and dignified, and here it is as well, but because Rémy's forgiveness and redemption is provided through the looks he is given and the interactions he shares rather than spoken dialogue, the final impact is all the greater. Arcand has fashioned a modern Greek tragedy and so much more. It is simple yet highly intelligent, intimate yet harsh around the edges, and personal yet universal. In short, it is an instant classic.
NOTE: On the second disc of the DVD for the Barbarian Invasions, there is a documentary starring the cast. They are seated at a table to enjoy a meal together, and in that time they discuss many of the topics brought up in the film. It is a feature as fascinating as the movie itself, and to see the actors engaging in intelligent, lively, philosophical conversation about such grand issues made me wish I could join in too.
