Wolff rating: FAIR
Plot summary: French-Canadian historians discuss their sex lives endlessly.
Biased, pithy comments: I realize the focus on sex is a grand metaphor for the fall of the Empire. In 1986, it probably seemed to Canadians that the USA was hell-bent on destroying itself in an orgy of violence with the USSR and that the world was going to hell in a handbasket. I'm sure of this because the narrator tells us. The rest of the time, we get to hear about historians' sex lives. Even though this film is French-Canadian, I kept thinking it was French---the concentration on mistresses, the ``bad boy'' in aviator sunglasses (it's just hard to be tough while speaking French unless you're Jean Reno), and women who accept adultery with a sigh and a wry smile just seem so continental. Although the movie isn't supposed to be titillating (and, except for perhaps one scene, it isn't), it sure seemed like just an endless discussion of sex. Then again, I don't sleep around; if I did, perhaps I could have picked up a few pointers. Shot on a budget, sound recorded on a serious budget, and music just stolen from Handel; I can't find much to recommend this film unless you are a middle-aged philanderer who wants to swap stories in a bull session. Script editing, more motion on the characters, and a few more showdowns like the one between the Pollyanna and the cynic at the end (a very good moment, but a hell of a long time coming) would have made this a far more interesting, if mostly repulsive, picture. As it is, it was mostly slow.
Other Notes: Reviews are mixed; some people found it brilliant, others thought it mostly sucked. I think I fell into the ``mostly sucked'' category. Nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Dominique Michel, Dorothee Berryman, Louise Portal, Pierre Curzi, Remy Girard, Yves Jacques.
Directed by: Denys Arcand