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Les Invasions Barbares Also known as The Barbarian Invasions Also known as Invasion of the Barbarians In French, with English subtitles (2003) Remy: "You remember the proverb. Christmas in the scanner, Easter six feet under." This is a beautiful, meaningful movie. I loved it. Remy (Remy Girard), a former college professor, is dying. His wealthy son, Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) decides he will do everything he can to make his father's remaining time on earth beautiful and meaningful, even if it requires subverting the national health care system and breaking the law. You'd think a story this heavy would be depressing, but it's not. It's moving, uplifting, life-affirming, and genuinely funny. As Remy spends his final days with his oldest friends, his former mistresses, and, in a touching subplot, a suicidal heroin addict, discussions inevitably revolve around the meaning of life. The "barbarian invasion" is a metaphor for the chaos that descends and takes things out of your control: like sickness, fear, war, the disintegration of society. Everything these characters talked about, and everything they did, just rang true for me, and the ending was tremendously touching. This is not a movie to rent for Roy content. He has a cameo role as a narcotics detective and does only two brief scenes. But it's a wonderful movie, and I highly recommend it. Four out of four stars, Billie |
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Home | Show Index | Blog | Movie Reviews | Site Updates | About Me