''The Decline of the American Empire'' (french: Le Déclin de l'empire Américain) is a 1986 Canadian
sex comedy
Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...
-
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Denys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a French Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. His film ''The Barbarian Invasions'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004. His films have also been nominated three f ...
and starring
Rémy Girard
Rémy Girard (born August 10, 1950) is a Canadian actor and former television host from Montreal, Quebec.
Acting career
Girard played the role of Rémy, the main character, who is dying of terminal cancer, in the Canadian film ''The Barbarian In ...
,
Pierre Curzi
Pierre Curzi (born February 11, 1946 in Montreal, Quebec) is an actor, screenwriter and politician in Quebec. He is a former Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the riding of Borduas in the Montérégie region south of Montreal. ...
and
Dorothée Berryman. The film follows a group of intellectual friends from the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
history department as they engage in a long dialogue about their sexual affairs, touching on issues of
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
,
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
,
group sex
Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their ...
,
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
and
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
. A number of characters associate self-indulgence with societal decline.
The film was a box office success in Canada and internationally and received good reviews. It won the
FIPRESCI Prize
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
, nine
Genie Awards
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
, including
Best Motion Picture, and was the first Canadian film nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
. It was followed by two sequels, ''
The Barbarian Invasions
''The Barbarian Invasions'' (french: Les Invasions barbares) is a 2003 Canadian-French sex comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand and starring Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau and Marie-Josée Croze. The film is a sequel to Arca ...
'' in 2003 and ''
Days of Darkness'' in 2007.
Plot
In an interview with
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
,
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
History Professor Dominique St. Arnaud tells Diane about her new book, ''Variations on the Idea of Happiness'', which discusses her thesis that modern society's fixation on self-indulgence is indicative of its decline, predicting a collapse in the "
American Empire
American imperialism refers to the expansion of American political, economic, cultural, and media influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright military conquest ...
", of which
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
is on the periphery. Several of Dominique and Diane's friends, mostly intellectual history professors at the university, prepare for a dinner later in the day, with the men at work in the kitchen while the women work out at the gym.
As the dinner draws nearer, the men and women mainly talk about their sex lives, with the men being open about their
adulteries, including Rémy, who is married to Louise. Most of the women in the circle of friends have had sex with Rémy, though he is not attractive, but they conceal this from Louise to spare her feelings. Louise has been to an
orgy
In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity or group sex.
Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swing ...
with Rémy, but believes he is generally faithful to her in Montreal. The friends are also accepting of their homosexual friend Claude, who speaks about pursuing men reckless of fear of
STDs, while secretly being fearful of having one. During the dinner party, the friends listen to Dominique's theories about the decline of society, with Louise expressing skepticism. To retaliate against Louise, Dominique reveals she has had sex with Rémy and their friend Pierre, causing her to have an emotional meltdown. By morning, relationships have gone back to normal.
Cast
Production
Development
![DenysArcand07TIFF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/DenysArcand07TIFF.jpg)
In the wake of the
1980 Quebec referendum, director
Denys Arcand
Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a French Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. His film ''The Barbarian Invasions'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004. His films have also been nominated three f ...
felt Quebec's interests had shifted from politics to "individual pleasures", and with a small budget of $800,000 for his next project, envisioned a dialogue-heavy film like
Louis Malle
Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both Cinema of France, French cinema and Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a fi ...
's 1981 film ''
My Dinner with Andre''. Arcand viewed sex as the most likely topic that could sustain audience interest for an entire film. He worked on the screenplay throughout the summer of 1984, under the working title ''Conversations scabreuses''. He chose tenured university professors as his subject matter because he felt that such people had less of a Quebecois accent, which would make the film more accessible to French-speaking audiences around the world. He avoided naming local places for the same reason, even though this went against the wishes of the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
, which co-sponsored the film.
As Arcand worked on the script, producer
Roger Frappier Roger Frappier (born April 14, 1945) is a Canadian producer, director, editor, actor, and screenwriter.
Biography
Roger Frappier worked in all areas of the film business, from film critic to television commercial director to director/ producer of t ...
saw the story as promising and lobbied
René Malo
René Malo, CQ (born 7 March 1942) is a French Canadian film producer, most noted for establishing the Malofilm production and distribution studio.
Born in Joliette, Quebec, Malo produced youth-oriented shows at Expo 67. He later became a mem ...
to co-produce, allowing for a bigger budget. Frappier and Malo raised $1.8 million, allowing for more settings depicted in the film. Most of the funding came from the governments of Canada and Quebec.
Arcand had
Rémy Girard
Rémy Girard (born August 10, 1950) is a Canadian actor and former television host from Montreal, Quebec.
Acting career
Girard played the role of Rémy, the main character, who is dying of terminal cancer, in the Canadian film ''The Barbarian In ...
and
in mind for principal roles after working with them on ''
The Crime of Ovide Plouffe
''The Crime of Ovide Plouffe'' (french: Le Crime d'Ovide Plouffe), also known as ''Murder in the Family'' in its television run, is a Canadian film and television miniseries from Quebec. The project consisted of two parts: a two-hour theatrical fil ...
(Le Crime d'Ovide Plouffe)'' (1984), and named the main character Rémy after Girard. Nevertheless, their lack of celebrity meant Girard had to audition for the part named for him, to satisfy producers.
Filming
![Lake_Memphremagog](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Lake_Memphremagog.JPG)
Filming began in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
in August 1985, and moved to
Lake Memphremagog
Lake Memphremagog (; french: Lac Memphrémagog) is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed that ...
in September, finishing in October. Filmmaker
Jacques Leduc
Jacques Leduc (born November 25, 1941) is a Canadian film director and cinematographer.
Biography
Leduc began his career in 1961 working as a film critic for the magazine ''Objectif''. The following year, at the age of 21, he was hired as a ca ...
is given credit for photographing the nature scenes in the film.
In filming
sex scenes, Arcand felt visual depictions were overused, which is why he focused on the verbal aspect. He also felt the sex scenes were challenging because of actors' modesty, and sought to place the camera in novel positions.
Release
The film was screened at the
1986 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a 20-minute standing ovation, after which distribution to 60 countries was assured. In Canada, the film premiered in Montreal on 20 June, and opened across the country in September and October.
The film was screened for months in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and was the highest-grossing film ever in Quebec, making $2.2 million in the province alone. Outside Quebec, the film made $1 million in Canada. In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, it drew an audience of 1,236,322 people, the highest for a
Quebec film ever. The film ultimately made $30 million.
Critical reception
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film three stars, saying that despite the sexual dialogue, "the real subject is wit", and comparing it to ''
My Dinner with Andre''.
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote "Not since
Alain Tanner
Alain Tanner (6 December 1929 – 11 September 2022) was a Swiss film director.
Early years and education
Tanner was born in Geneva, and studied economics at the University of Geneva. In 1951, he joined the film club which Claude Goretta had re ...
's ''
Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000
''Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000'' (french: Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000) is a 1976 Swiss drama film directed by Alain Tanner and written by Tanner and John Berger. The location of the shooting was Geneva.
The film follows the lives ...
'' has there been a comedy that so entertainingly and successfully expresses itself through intelligent characters defined entirely in their talk", and called the cast, including
Rémy Girard
Rémy Girard (born August 10, 1950) is a Canadian actor and former television host from Montreal, Quebec.
Acting career
Girard played the role of Rémy, the main character, who is dying of terminal cancer, in the Canadian film ''The Barbarian In ...
and
Pierre Curzi
Pierre Curzi (born February 11, 1946 in Montreal, Quebec) is an actor, screenwriter and politician in Quebec. He is a former Member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the riding of Borduas in the Montérégie region south of Montreal. ...
, "excellent". Rita Kempley of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' found most characters unlikable but wrote "''The Decline of the American Empire'' is certainly the year's most intellectual work, a frequently funny, unrepressed meditation on midnight in North America". Peter Keough of the ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'' wrote "The laughs come easy in ''Decline'', but also a bit guiltily when you recognize that this hip sex comedy is actually a reactionary tract", given what he saw as the ending's victory for "traditional heterosexuality" while the homosexual character had an STD.
David Denby
David Denby (born 1943) is an American journalist. He served as film critic for ''The New Yorker'' until December 2014.
Early life and education
Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B. A. from Columbia University in 1965, and a master' ...
of ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazine panned the film, calling it "pompous and tiresome". In France, many critics highlighted the film's use of Quebec's natural landscape.
The
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
ranked it in the
Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time The Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time is a list compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival ranking what are the considered the best Canadian films. The list has been compiled once roughly every 10 years starting in 1984, typically assembl ...
twice, in 1993 and 2004. Shortly after the release of the sequel ''
The Barbarian Invasions
''The Barbarian Invasions'' (french: Les Invasions barbares) is a 2003 Canadian-French sex comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand and starring Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau and Marie-Josée Croze. The film is a sequel to Arca ...
'' in 2003, the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
called ''The Decline of the American Empire'' "a witty and provocative look at the battle of the sexes". In 2011, marking the 25th anniversary of the film, Isabelle Houde of the Montreal-based ''
La Presse'' remarked the film was daring for 1986 in portraying homosexuality as normal.
Accolades
The film won nine
Genie Awards
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
in 1987, including
Best Motion Picture and
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
and
Best Original Screenplay
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
for Arcand. It also received the
FIPRESCI Prize
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.
The film was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
at the
59th Academy Awards
The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 30, 1987, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During ...
,
the first Canadian film so honoured. Its sequel, ''The Barbarian Invasions'' (''Les Invasions barbares''), would go on to win Canada's first Oscar in the category
in 2003.
Sequels
''
The Barbarian Invasions
''The Barbarian Invasions'' (french: Les Invasions barbares) is a 2003 Canadian-French sex comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand and starring Rémy Girard, Stéphane Rousseau and Marie-Josée Croze. The film is a sequel to Arca ...
'', released in 2003, uses the same characters as ''The Decline of the American Empire'' and presents an aftermath to the ending of the first film, having Rémy's marriage end, and is thus a sequel. Before 2007, critics called the two films, along with Arcand's 1989 film ''
Jesus of Montreal
''Jesus of Montreal'' (french: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 French Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand, and starring Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening and Johanne-Marie Tremblay. The film tells the story of a grou ...
'', the "Montreal trilogy" because of their shared setting and allegory. There are also characters from ''Jesus of Montreal'' in ''The Barbarian Invasions''.
In 2007, Arcand's film ''
Days of Darkness'' was released. This film, along with ''The Decline of the American Empire'' and ''The Barbarian Invasions'', was considered to complete a trilogy "about where Western civilization stands in the run-up to and the aftermath of the new millennium". The ''Decline'' character Pierre, played by Pierre Curzi, also appears in ''Days of Darkness'' to update his story from ''The Barbarian Invasions''. Arcand's 2018 film, ''
The Fall of the American Empire
''The Fall of the American Empire'' (french: La chute de l'empire américain) is a 2018 Canadian crime thriller film written and directed by Denys Arcand and starring Alexandre Landry, Maxim Roy, Yan England and Rémy Girard. It is about a man ( ...
'', continued themes of money degrading civilization, although it was not a direct sequel to ''The Decline of the American Empire'' apart from its similar name.
See also
*
*
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decline Of The American Empire
1986 comedy-drama films
1986 LGBT-related films
1986 films
Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Canadian comedy-drama films
Canadian sex comedy films
English-language Canadian films
1980s French-language films
Films directed by Denys Arcand
Films set in Montreal
Films shot in Montreal
Lake Memphremagog
National Film Board of Canada films
Canadian LGBT-related films
LGBT-related comedy-drama films
Films scored by François Dompierre
HIV/AIDS in Canadian films
1980s Canadian films
Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners