Invasion of the Barbarians


In 1986, the Canadian director Denys Arcand released his blistering exposé of modern sexual mores, The Decline of the American Empire. At first blush, the title of the film may have seemed anomalous, since the film takes place on a lake shore in Quebec and is spoken entirely in French. But Arcand, who has a background in history, was actually making a larger point, as he attempted to make the connection between decadent sexual mores on the one side and the decline of civilization on the other. Now, seventeen years later, comes the sequel to The Decline. Appropriately enough, Arcand's newest film is entitled The Barbarian Invasions.

What is most impressive about both of these films is their utter lack of ideological pretension. Arcand simply shows you the facts, highlights the salient aspects of them, and lets his audience decide what to make of it. There is no ideological axe-grinding, no attempt to push a particular point of view. Although he doesn't spare his decadent characters, he does so sympathetically, without any attempt to either glorify or condemn their behavior. In The Invasion, Remy, the philandering professor from The Decline, is dying from cancer. His ex-wife, easily the most sympathetic character from The Decline, has their stock broker son arrives from London to help deal with the horrible Canadian medical bureaucracy. Arcand, who earlier in his career made a controversial documentary about worker's rights, in this film takes a very different tack, giving the most chilling depiction of socialized medicine ever put on screen. Statism, with its inefficiency, it's idolization of red tape, and its corruption is shown as yet another symptom of the West's decline.

The Invasion has received critical acclaim world wide. It took three Cesars, the French Oscar, and snagged the Oscar for best foreign film in March. Indeed, it really should have won Best Picture. It is certainly a better picture than the over-rated Return of the King. It constitutes one of the most honest depictions of society and human nature to appear in recent years.

Posted: Sat - May 15, 2004 at 09:24 PM          

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