- Language: French
- Subtitles: English
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B004XVMCG2
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #35,860 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product Details |
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
"The Barbarian Invasions" is emotional and highly thought-provoking,
By
This review is from: NEW Barbarian Invasions (DVD) (DVD)
The most skilful attribute of "The Barbarian Invasions" is the clever way in which the film intertwines a personal story with our collective history. I don't remember another recent film that has managed to move and making me feel involved as much, and in both respects. The film is incredibly accurate in capturing a "moment", an undercurrent; difficult to articulate and to put in words, of what it is happening in our world today. It does this with remarkable restrain and in small measures in the delivery of details, giving us few but quite powerful facts.The film centers on Rémy's estranged relationship with his son Sebastian (stand-up comic Stéphane Rousseau) a millionaire London businessman. When Sebastian comes to Montreal with his fiancée (Marina Hands), years of resentment against his father boil to the surface. Rémy apparently was not an exemplary father figure. He cheated on his wife, over indulged himself in hedonistic pleasures, and offered less than the support his children needed. Rémy, a socialist, considers his son a "puritanical capitalist" and one who portends the coming "barbarian" invasions. Sebastian resents Rémy for his womanizing and calls him "contentious". In spite of this resentment, however, he starts throwing money around to try and make his father's final days more comfortable, in a way subtly letting his father know that money can buy anything. "The Barbarian Invasions" is not a perfect film by any means but is one of the strongest Canadian films. Though some of the dialogue is strained, underneath there is a humanity that allows us to connect with our feelings about our own mortality and our relationships with those we care about. It is often hard to reconcile the robustly alive Rémy with our pictures of a man dying of cancer but Girard is powerfully effective in the role and I went from quiet distaste of his amorality to full acceptance of who he is by the end of the film. Though the conclusion is emotional, it is not trite or overly sentimental but allows us to access the deep place of silence within ourselves and embrace the mystery. There are a lot of interesting, thought provoking lines in the movie and it makes you think, stand, and react to the issues at stake plus ponder on.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb film,
By A Customer
This review is from: Les Invasions Barbares (DVD)
A scathing commentary on the Canadian health care system, combined with a wonderful family story. Just excellent.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving, funny and sharply observed film about life, letting go, and death,
By
This review is from: NEW Barbarian Invasions (DVD) (DVD)
An intelligent, witty, barbed, but still emotional film about; death,family, friends, class, intellectuals, hard headed capitalists vs. soft headed socialists and more. A sequel (17 years later!) to Arcand's 'Decline of the American Empire'. the film finds the same characters gathering together around the impending death from cancer of their Falstaffian friend Remy. While it's a bit 'prettified' about the pain and indignities of dying from cancer it's honest and funny and true about the compromises we make in life, the fact that few of us ever live up to our dreams and ideals, and that even when we do, we sacrifice something in the process. A film where the final reconciliations feel earned and complex, not Hollywood easy. And where irony dances gracefully with sentiment. It seems like the film might be presented here in the wrong aspect ratio; 1:85, instead of 2:35 (The UK release is in 2:35). However, it still looks fine, and since I can't say for sure, I'm not going to downgrade an otherwise terrific film.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
