The Decline of the American Empire

1986 [FRENCH]

Action / Comedy / Drama

3
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 86% · 14 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 82% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.1/10 10 8953 9K

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Plot summary

Four very different Montreal university teachers gather at a rambling country house to prepare a dinner. Remy (married), Claude (a homosexual), Pierre (involved with a girlfriend) and Alain (a bachelor) discuss sex, the female body and their affairs with them. Meanwhile, their four female guests, Louise (Remy's wife of 15 years), Dominique (a spinster), Diane (a divorcée) and Danielle (Pierre's girlfriend) are spending the time at a downtown health gym. They also discuss sex, the female body and, naturally, men. Later in the evening, they finally meet at the country house and have dinner. A ninth guest, named Mario, who used to know Diane, drops in on the group for some talk and has a surprise of his own.

Director

Denys Arcand Photo
Denys Arcand

Top cast

Évelyn Regimbald Photo
Évelyn Regimbald as Theresa
Lisette Guertin Photo
Lisette Guertin as
Alexandre Remy Photo
Alexandre Remy as Transvestite
Daniel Brière Photo
Daniel Brière as Alain
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
934.02 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  fr  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds 2
1.69 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  fr  
23.976 fps
1 hr 41 min
Seeds 9

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by dlipman 7 / 10

A Movie that Reflects the Social and Sxual Liberation of Quebec

Having lived and taught at a francophone public university in Montreal in the early 1970's, I found this movie (just recently available through Netflix) accurately reflecting the preoccupation with sexual liberation, sexual experimentation and gender equality among so many Quebecois. Starting in the 60's, and definitely continuing into the 70's, Quebecois totally overthrew centuries of social control exercised by a particularly conservative Catholic church. Except for the 17th century language with its unique pronunciation, and maybe "cabane-a-sucre" (maple syrup) parties in late winter, countless traditions and social hierarchies apparently were scrapped. I believe sexual exploration and questioning of authority went far deeper than in the US, at least among the many urban middle and working class young people I met in that period. Yes, "Decline ..." is wordy, but words have their own eroticism, and mind-body integration is a big part of the sexual liberation the characters were facing, for better or worse. If you like this movie don't miss the sequel, The Barbarian Invasions, which reexamines these characters from a (hopefully) more mature perspective, skillfully weaves death and desire, and is just a great movie.
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Reviewed by DanB-4 8 / 10

Witty and Entertaining

For many years, this movie ranked in my all time top ten. Over time, my affection for it has dropped, but I still value it greatly. It is a wordy movie about sexual politics of all kinds and human relationships. I have always felt that most of the characters in this film feel a need to justify relationships that they should not be in.

The story is simple - a group of men prepare dinner for a group of women who are at a club working out. While in separate locations, they are free to talk about their sexual appetites, exploits and conquests. The female conversations are particularly funny. Eventually, the women arrive and dinner commences, an unexpected guest shows up and eventually, secrets are revealed.

Decline of the American Empire is Denys Arcand's best film, and at the time, the best ever to come out of Canada. (That crown now firmly belongs to Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter). It seems a little dated today, but if you can handle subtitles, and if you like movies with lots of dialogue about sex and human relationships, it is a worthy rental. ***1/2 out of ****.

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