The Barbarian Invasions

Director Denys Arcand revisits the situations and relationships that informed his international breakthrough The Decline of the American Empire with this dialogue-driven character study. Set 17 years after Decline , The Barbarian Invasions , like its predecessor, examines the varying politics — economic, personal, and sexual — at play among an aging group of friends, lovers, and ex-spouses. This time around, leads Remy ( Rémy Girard ) and Louise ( Dorothee Berryman ) are divorced, with their son Sebastien ( Stéphane Rousseau ) living in capitalist splendor in London. But the slightly estranged family is brought together by Remy's losing battle with terminal cancer, and the hedonistic, ex-radical father and straight-laced son have to overcome their differences. Along the way, Remy waxes nostalgic with many of the same pals who made up the dinner party of the first film. — Michael Hastings