The Barbarian Invasions (2003) on Netflix
Montréal professor Rémy learns he is dying of liver cancer. Louise, his ex-wife, asks their estranged son Sébastien, a London financier, to come home; father and son clash over money and ideals.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.5/1031,043 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
Rémy, a Montréal history professor, learns he is dying of liver cancer and wants to make amends. His ex-wife Louise calls their estranged son Sébastien, a financial risk manager in London, who returns to Montréal. Father and son have long clashed: Sébastien blames Rémy's affairs for breaking the family, and Rémy despises his son's capitalist career. Sébastien uses his money and connections to secure better care, but Rémy insists on the public hospital system he believes in. Sébastien also contacts Rémy's old friends, among them Pierre, Dominique, Claude and Diane, and they gather to see him. Rémy, who calls himself a socialist, faces his illness while arguing with his son about how to spend his last days.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- To research how his character would find heroin, Arcand met with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in an interrogation room resembling the one in the film; when he called a Montreal detective's number the RCMP gave him, he heard a police raid on the Hells Angels that led to Maurice Boucher's arrest.
- The Barbarian Invasions is considered historically significant as the first Canadian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
- At the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the film received a 22-minute standing ovation, and distribution to 30 countries was assured by the time Arcand received his Best Screenplay award.
- Stéphane Rousseau, a Quebec stand-up comedian, was cast as Sébastien after Dominique Michel urged Arcand to let him audition; Arcand chose him for the authority other auditioning actors lacked.
- Marie-Josée Croze's honour for Best Actress at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival was considered unlikely, and she was not present to accept the award.
- The film's victory at France's national César Awards was also considered a surprise because it is mainly a Quebec film.
- The September 11 attacks occurred when Arcand was nearly finished his screenplay, giving new impetus to his ideas about 'the decline of the American Empire'; he believed the attack was the first of many foreign attacks on the U.S.
- For hospital scenes, the cast and crew used Lachine General Hospital, an unused former hospital in Lachine, Quebec; cinematographer Guy Dufaux lit early scenes with fluorescent fixtures reflecting the building's green paint and brightened later scenes as the film's mood lifts.
