Remy (and indelible characterization by Remy Girard) has lived a life of sexual freedom, intellectual pursuits (he is a Professor of History and defender of free thinking), and seems to have placed his family and wife in the periphery. Suddenly faced with a diagnosis of a rampantly aggressive and untreatable cancer, he rages against the world that no longer holds his tenets of civilization dear: he faces his mortality convinced he has no legacy to leave the world he entered. His ex-wife notifies his worldly and wealthy Baby-Boomer generation son in his important office in London to return home, despite the fact that the son sees little point in rushing back to the father who was never a father to him. The son Sebastien (in a sophisticated, engrossing performance by Stephane Rousseau) flies to Montreal and, in his manner of control, takes over, planning the care of this 'shameful father' in a manner that allows him to provide the best amenities while putting more emotional distance from his father. Money talks, and after Sebastien drives him to the USA for the best of scans and opinions only to hear that Remy will not follow-up by entering a US Medical Center, Remy is moved to a deserted floor of the hospital (grandly redecorated and staffed by Sebastien's conniving way with money bribes). Sebastien gathers the wildest assortment of Remy's friends, mistresses, and political/intellectual oddballs and gives Remy everything he could ask for - even satellite conversation with Remy's yachting-on-the-seas daughter. When his disease advances and the accompanying pain encroaches, Sebastien even arranges for heroin by coercing the addicted daughter of one of Remy's mistresses to supply the need. Eventually as the situation changes, Sebastien arranges for the entire entourage to move to a beautiful house by a lake outside Montreal and there the group eats, drinks, philosophizes, and entertains their old friend. At this point Sebastien and Remy are alone with their personal histories and disappointments and regrets and it is this exploration of how these two disparate souls find each other that the utter magic of this magnificent film. Though the ending of the film is implied from the outset, to spoil the final moments by revealing the actual details of the story would be a disservice to the viewer.

An added attraction on the DVD (in French and English with subtitles) is a filmed dinner with the entire cast (and to a person, this is a cast of gifted, virtuosic actors), discussing the movies, their characters, and more importantly looking at the Montreal that was the dream of the future when all of these actors were young and idealistic and now faces a stagnation and void that each sees as a threat to the future. These are articulate actors and their words and thoughts are intensely sensitive and informative. This added feature adds yet more depth in accompaniment to the film. ‘The Barbarian Invasions’ is a film to purchase for your private collection, a film to return to often as a reminder that living our lives as individual sanctities is the only way we will be able to maintain 'civilization' in this era of instant gratification and disregard for the past. Highly recommended on every level!

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Grady Harp is a recognized as a champion of Representational Art in the roles of curator, lecturer, panelist, writer of art essays, poetry, critical reviews of literature, art and music, and as a gallerist. He has presented premiere artists from throughout the world for such exhibitions as BODY LANGUAGE: Current Figurative Painters, INDOMITABLE SPIRITS: The Figure at the End of the Century and MEMENTO MORI: Contemporary Still Life. He has produced exhibitions for the Fresno Museum of Art, Nevada Museum of Art, National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago, and Cleveland State University Art Gallery and has served as a contributing artistic advisor for universities and colleges throughout California, in Berlin, the Centro Cultural de Conde Duque in Madrid, and in Oslo. From 1996 - 1998 his collaborative exhibition, WAR SONGS: Metaphors in Clay and Poetry from the Vietnam Experience toured the United States. Harp is a frequent contributor to books on fine art, associated with the Ivy Press LTD in England.

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© 2004 Laura Hird All rights reserved.