In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', 50-something Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. He decides to make amends meet to his friends and family before he dies. He first tries to made peace with his ex-wife Louise, who asks their estranged son Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the entire Canadian system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while he also tries to reunite his former friends, Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude to see their old friend before he passes on.
Arcand avoids the temptation of turning the story into a tear-jerker.
– Jeff Strickler,
Minneapolis Star Tribune,
16 Jan 2004
fresh:
A nicely balanced blend of sentiment and acrid wit.
– Roger Moore,
Orlando Sentinel,
21 Apr 2004
fresh:
Both the comedy and the weepy moments tend towards the trite, but the film is directed and performed with such brio and manipulative skill that one eventually succumbs to its somewhat dubious charms.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
26 Jan 2006
fresh:
A full-bodied, funny and gloriously unpretentious ode to family, friendship and the meaning of life.
– Lisa Nesselson,
Variety,
7 Aug 2008
fresh:
Despite an uneven cast, Arcand finds a tonal balance between sentimental and cynical that keeps the conversations real and heart wrenching.