The fall of the American empire
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The fall of the American empire |
| Original title | Le Déclin de l'empire américain |
| Country of production | Canada ( Québec ) |
| original language | French |
| Publishing year | 1986 |
| length | 101 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Denys Arcand |
| script | Denys Arcand |
| production |
Roger Frappier René Malo |
| music | François Dompierre |
| camera | Guy Dufaux |
| cut | Monique Fortier |
| occupation | |
| |
The Fall of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain) is a Canadian feature film directed by Denys Arcand , who wrote the screenplay. Pierre Curzi and Rémy Girard can be seen in the leading roles . The funny and tragic comedy from 1986 was nominated for an Oscar . The 2003 film The Barbarian Invasions is a casual sequel to this film.
action
Eight intellectual friends meet in a country house. The four men prepared the food while the women worked out in a fitness club. Most of them are middle-aged and in various positions at the Department of History at the University of Montreal . They discuss their amorous adventures and reflect on sex and love in witty conversations. They are all in search of personal happiness, each with their own story. The gay Claude is sick. Diane has a sadomasochistic affair with Mario, who joins the group. Pierre met and fell in love with his girlfriend Danielle in an erotic massage club. The successful Dominique has written a book. Lonely and frustrated, she reveals that she slept with the Pierre and Rémy present. Rémy and Louise, who have been married for a long time, are shocked. Her family life, which has hitherto been intact, ends with the truth about the husband's active love life, which his naive wife did not want to know about. A world is collapsing for them. Dominique is now spending time with young Alain.
Reviews
- Cinema mentioned the "bitter, but humane joke" and that "educated citizens talk about politics, culture and sex, sex, sex".
- The lexicon of international film wrote that it was "a partly targeted and profoundly amusing, partly glaringly distorting film essay that deals with the collapse of values in modern affluent society". The film is "questionable because of its sarcastic and cynical attitude and its blind attacks on the state and society."
- www.kino.de said that the "bizarre comedy by Denys Arcand (" Jesus von Montreal ") about the disgust of life and the fall in values is amusing, even if it is a bit dialog-heavy, staged.
- Roger Ebert described the film in the Chicago Sun-Times as "wise, profound, painful and verbose," with the "joke" being the main point. ("The movie is wise, deep, and painful, and it is filled with words [...] the real subject is wit.")
- Prisma saw the film as an "extremely funny, verbal-erotic comedy" which "despite its strong cynicism, thanks to brilliant dialogues, its consistent focus on a provocative topic and its high artistic quality, became a worldwide success".
Awards
- In 1986 Denys Arcand won a FIPRESCI award at the Festival de Cannes .
- In 1986 the film won a NYFCC Award for Best Foreign Film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards .
- In 1986, Denys Arcand won the Toronto International Film Festival for Best Canadian Film and the People's Choice Award .
- 1987 nomination for an Oscar for best foreign language film .
- 1987 Genie Awards
- Best film: Roger Frappier, René Malo
- Best director: Denys Arcand
- Best Supporting Actress: Louise Portal
- Best Supporting Actor: Gabriel Arcand
- Best Original Screenplay: Denys Arcand
- Best cut: Monique Fortier
- Best sound editor: Paul Dion, Diane Boucher, Andy Malcolm,
- Best sound: Adrian Croll, Jean-Pierre Joutel, Richard Besse
- Golden Reel Award: René Malo, Roger Frappier
- Nominated for Best Actress: Dorothée Berryman
- Nominated for Best Actress: Geneviève Rioux
- Nominated for Best Actor: Rémy Girard
- Nominated for Best Actor: Pierre Curzi
- Nominated for Best Actor: Yves Jacques
Background information
The budget was approximately 1.8 million Canadian dollars (CAD). The film was shot from August to September 1985. Income amounted to 1.9 million US dollars in the US and about 2.97 million CAD in Canada. The English title is The Decline of the American Empire .
The first publication took place on June 19, 1986 in Canada. In Germany the film was about 101 minutes long. It ran in theaters from November 6, 1986. In the German-speaking countries the film has so far only been released on VHS video .
Web links
- The Decline of the American Empire in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Film review at filmzentrale
- The Decline of the American Empire at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A review of Cinema
- ↑ The Fall of the American Empire. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ Criticism from kino.de
- ↑ Roger Ebert: Critique. In: Chicago Sun-Times , November 21, 1986 (English)
- ↑ Critique of Prisma