Le Declin de l'empire americain

TAKE ONE, June-Sept, 2004 by Peter Harcourt

1986 101m director and script Denys Arcand, producers Rene Malo and Roger Frappier, cinematographer Guy Dufaux, editor Monique Fortier, music Francois Dompierre; with Remy Girard, Dorothee Berryman, Pierre Curzi, Louise Portal, Gabriel Arcand, Dominique Michel, Daniel Briere, Yves Jacques and Genevieve Rioux

Le Declin de l'empire americain was the first Quebecois film fully to stake out a cinematic claim on the modern world. In the manner of Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) and The Big Chill (1983), Le Declin assembles a gaggle of privileged academics who are socially and amorously involved with one another. Very much in the style of a classic French farce, the first act intercuts women working out in a lavish gymnasium, while talking about sex, with men preparing dinner in a luxurious chalet in the Eastern Townships, while talking about sex. A performance piece throughout, the film delights through the dexterity of the acting and the wit of the dialogue. With the second act, however, when the women arrive at the chalet, the tone of the film migrates from the carefree ebullience of La Regle du jeu (1939) to the wounded thoughtfulness of Through a Glass Darkly (1961). For what is declining in this film, finally, is the ability of the Quebecois privileged classes to believe any longer in cultural sovereignty, reducing them to the compensatory pleasures of food and sex--thus paving the way, 17 years later, for Arcand's depoliticized Les Invasions barbares (2003).

AWARDS: Genie Awards--Picture, Director, Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Arcand), Supporting Actress (Portal), Editing, Overall Sound, Sound Editing, Golden Reel Award; Toronto Interanational Film Festival- Best Canadian Feature Film, People's Choice Award; Cannes Film Festival--International Critics Prize; New York Film Critics Circle--Best Foreign-Language Film; Academy Award Nomination--Best Foreign-Language Film; AV Trust--Masterwork