Decline of the American Empire (1986)

The Decline of the American Empire (1986) – Eight friends gather for a chance to share a meal and enjoy the company.  Along the way, they discuss the ups and downs of their sex lives.  But in the end some details are revealed that will change their relationships forever.

Directed by Denys Arcand                          Starring: Dorothee Berryman, Remy Girard

I stumbled on this loose trilogy of movies a couple years ago, and was blown away by the middle movie “The Barbarian Invasions“.  It was an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film 2004.   The third movie, “Days of Darkness” is in my queue to see as well.

 This movie sets up the action in the second.  All of the characters are connected to the local university, some as professors and administrators, some as teaching assistants and students.  It is Remy that is the center of this movie, just as he is in the second.  The subject of the film is sex, with that ever so slightly cynical Gallic delight in the subject.  Remy likes sex a lot.  He is married to the attractive and willing Louise, who is willing to tolerate the occasional fling (oh so French) because she knows that Remy is faithful when he is at home.  All of the other characters are equally involved in a variety of sexual escapades from Claude, a gay man who gets his thrills while cruising through public parks, to Pierre, a man who thinks he is utterly cynical about love and sex but has fallen in love with a much younger woman.

The dialogue is funny and disturbing all at once.  As with “The Barbarian Invasions” there is one jarring moment of utter brutality (emotional, not physical) that creates a scene of such raw emotional power that I dare you to forget it.

This is NOT a family film.  If you are prepared to have a major conversation about sex and sexuality with your teenagers, this might be OK for you.  Infidelity, homosexuality, BDSM and more are discussed.  This is a grown-up movie.

Made in Quebec, the dialogue is entirely subtitled.  There is a bit of nudity, both male, and female.  The film takes a much more European approach, meaning there is not prissiness about full frontal MALE nudity.  It’s always brief and appropriate to the storytelling.

Why I Liked It – Smart, intelligent dialogue that doesn’t try to hide the shortcomings of the characters.

Why You Will Like It – You feel like these people truly like one another and you end up liking them as well.

(In case anyone wonders, there’s no movie poster image for this one because I don’t really need the image showing up on my other social media when this blog post pops up)

Rating – **** Recommended