Wonderful Movie

Just what I expected

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

And once more here we have a movie that shows you in order to make a good and effective movie, all you need is a good script and some talented persons involved, both in front and behind the camera's. Good movies don't always need to cost a lot of money to become successful ones, both critically and financially.This Oscar winning Canadian movie is actually a sequel to the 1986 movie "Le déclin de l'empire américain", by the same director and also mostly the same cast. But is it also necessarily to see that movie first? Not really. It doesn't matter all that much for its story, I would imaging, though it probably will give the story and some of its characters some extra depth and emotions behind them.Thing with this movie is that you can take it as both a political movie/social commentary or simply as a drama. It all depends on how much you're reading between the lines. I for one simply took this as a drama and perhaps you have to be Canadian yourself to fully appreciate and understand everything this movie is trying to do and tell.The one and foremost thing I got out of this movie was that its story was telling you that you can live life all the way you want but in the end it will always be your family that will comfort- and bring you true joy and pleasure in life. And in that regard, this drama also truly works out very well.It's also because the very realistic characters. None of them are without his or hers flaws really and just like its story, nothing is ever black or white. Nothing and no one is truly good or evil and people all make their mistakes in life, no mater how good the indentation are. Yes, you could say that this is one of those movies that is basically being like a random slice of life, with realistic people and emotions in it.The movie of course also truly thrives on its great directing approach by Denys Arcand. He handles, the drama, the comedy and basically everything else in between very well and make it a very well balanced movie with all of its many ingredients and heavy subjects. Besides that, it's a very good looking movie, with a very distinctive style as well.Simply a good and effective movie, you can hardly say anything bad about.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

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 '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 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.

Decline can be beautiful, or it can be horrifying. Edward Gibbon's notion was that the Roman Empire was an organic thing and like any other it is born, grows to maturity, declines, and dies. Arcand -- like Remy -- seems to have a historian's eye when viewing the journey of life.I saw this right after watching Decline of the American Empire and find it impossible to separate the two. The characters in the former are sparkplugs, intellectual sponges, heirs of Dionysus. Here, they are seasoned, sound creatures who have achieved peace with age -- except for Remy.Like a true historian, Remy cannot die in peace until he passes his knowledge he's accumulated on to his heir. This is the foundation of civilization: the continual accretion of achievement, the building of a collective consciousness. Remy's life would have been a waste had he died and severed his link to posterity. And his son would have lived an emptier life without lessons learned from his father. When they reconcile, the torch is passed peacefully, almost religiously.This really is a beautiful, touching quilt of characters weaved over, under, around one another. It's rich with narrative color, and the chemistry between the actors is palpable. Most significantly, it captures the beauty and enormity of life, which is a rare thing for a film.

I had no idea what this movie was about prior to renting it. And I almost turned it off upon discovering it was in French! But I am truly glad I persevered. Sebastien, the capitalistically successful son of a socialistic philandering failed professor, invades the pathetic socialized medicine system of his Canadian homeland by cutting through all the bureaucratic crap with good intentions and cold cash.Clearly, those reviewers here who say that right-wingers will hate this movie are 180 degrees off. It clearly demonstrates the ineptitude, failure, and easy corruptibility of the socialist leftist system and denizens thereof.This well-acted, beautifully photographed story confronts a host of controversial issues, from socialized medicine, to illegal drugs, to father-son estrangement, concepts and fear of death, to intellectual snobbery, adultery, and even euthanasia! Definitely must see for the lover of intelligent and literate and subtle comedy-drama. It only failed to get that tenth star because it is so laid back and slick in its approach, it may fail to excite.