RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Barbarian Invasions
The Barbarian Invasions

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
82 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:123

Fresh:101

Rotten:22

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: A moving and heart-felt film from director Denys Arcand.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] language, sexual dialogue, and drug content

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:20-02-2004

Synopsis: Denys Arcand's THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS is a story about the humor, hope and unspoken bonds that hold family and friends together against the onslaughts of life in our contemporary times. Winner of... Denys Arcand's THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS is a story about the humor, hope and unspoken bonds that hold family and friends together against the onslaughts of life in our contemporary times. Winner of two major awards at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the film merges Arcand's alternately witty and tender storytelling style with his most deeply emotional tale to date: that of a father and son who think they have nothing left in common until – hit with a major crisis --they learn to share an insatiable appetite for life. It has been years since Sébastien (Stéphane Rousseau), a wealthy London investment banker, has been home to visit his parents in Canada. He has been avoiding a run-in with his father, Rémy (Rémy Girard), a spirited and lustful Professor of History who long ago divorced Sébastien's loving mother Louise (Dorothée Berryman.) Meanwhile, his sister has left land entirely, sailing across the high seas in a yacht. But when a crisis calls Sébastien home to Quebec, father and son must confront one another at last. Right off the bat, their reunion is a bust. Equally stubborn, the two men cannot see eye to eye. To Sébastien, Rémy is unreasonable and cold. To Rémy, Sébastien is a symbol of the coming “barbarian invasions,” of all the negative changes in the world. But desperate to bring his father some kind of happiness, Sébastien pours his energy into an all-consuming mission: to reunite the “merry band” that marked Rémy's complicated past – friends, colleagues and former mistresses included. In the process, Sébastien discovers more about his father than he ever imagined, more about what he wants and hope for in his own life, and more about the pleasures of wine, women, conversation and the love and compassion of good friends. THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS was awarded both the Best Screenplay Award (for Denys Arcand) and the Best Actress Award (for Marie-Josée Croze, in the role of a young drug addict who offers unusual assistance to Rémy) at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was an audience favorite. Written and directed by Arcand, the film is produced by Denise Robert and Daniel Louis. The cast includes some of Quebec's most beloved and respected actors, including Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau, Dorothée Berryman, Marie-Josée Croze, Dominique Michel, Louise Portal and Yves Jacques. The film also reunites Denys Arcand with cinematographer Guy DuFaux, who shot “The Decline of the American Empire” and brings a new, contemporary look to THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS, as well as editor Isabelle Dedieu and costume designer Denis Sperdouklis. -- © Miramax [More]

Starring: Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Marie-Josee Croze, Dorothee Berryman

Starring: Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Marie-Josee Croze, Dorothee Berryman, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Pierre Curzi, Yves Jacques, Louise Portal, Dominique Michel

Director: Denys Arcand

Director: Denys Arcand
Screenwriter: Denys Arcand
Producer: Denise Robert, Daniel Louis
Studio: Miramax Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • The Barbarian Invasions Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for The Barbarian Invasions

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/09/04
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ultimately a gracious, even sweet-natured film, optimistic almost despite itself.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
03/02/04
Sight and Sound
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/20/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Warm, wise and witty.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/03/04
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/01/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Besides being a witty look at life, death and relationships, this is also a startlingly insightful examination of civilisation.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/11/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

"The Barbarian Invasions" is an intriguing meditation on the inevitable fall of ideologies under the pressure of nature's laws.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/04/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/07/08
Lisa Nesselson
Lisa Nesselson
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film's emotional ending is deeply felt and powerful, examining the pain and the humor of life without pathos or melodrama. As such, the film resonates and lingers.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NYC Film Critic | comment Comment
03/05/05
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
NYC Film Critic

...an almost documentary truth to the performances, a un-movieish consistency of tone that makes it easy to forget that we're watching actors.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/07/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

...jerkily paced, dramatically obvious, and seems penned by a self-serious 16-year-old

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Alternative | comment Comment
09/30/04
Jay Antani
Jay Antani
Los Angeles Alternative

The occasion is death, but the movie is a joyous celebration of life.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
07/15/04
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

You get to experience the sentiment without drowning in it; and you get a sharp-edged ideological exploration of living (and dying) in modern times.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
07/09/04
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
77% 77% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
82% 82% Paranormal Activity
57% 57% 9
44% 44% Jennifer's Body
58% 58% A Perfect Getaway

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Awards Tour

Awards Tour

Vote on the GTAs and follow the action.

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr.

The actor on playing Holmes and more.

Golden Globes

Golden Globes

The HFPA nominations are out.

Avatar

Avatar

We talk to Cameron and the cast.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Harold Ramis Discusses Filmography, Teases Ghostbusters 3 Source: Heeb Magazine
10
  • National Film Registry Adds 2009 Selections Source: Hollywood Reporter
7
  • New Moon Tops Moviefone's 2009 List Source: Hollywood Reporter
26
  • Star Trek Tops 2009's Most-Pirated Movies List Source: Hollywood Reporter
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
111
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
26
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin Team Up To Break Records
358
  • Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009
173
  • RT Editors Choose Their Favorite Films of 2009!
119
  • RT's Ten Most Popular Movies of 2009
52
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
37
  • Total Recall: New Year's Eve Movies
33
  • Critics Consensus: The White Ribbon Is Certified Fresh
12
  • Friday Harvest: Sherlock Holmes, Toy Story 3, and more!
10
  • What We're Watching on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox!
2
  • RT's 2010 Movie Preview -- Happy New Year!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
72
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Barbarian Invasions at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Barbarian Invasions at IGN
  • The Barbarian Invasions at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.