10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 4, 2004
ARTS
By John Hartman
Daily Ars Writer
M E
.0*
While you stepped out of the room to refill
your bean dip and cocktail weenie plates for
the Best Foreign Film award segment during
this year's Oscar telecast, you missed a very
happy director Denys
Arcand accepting his
award for the Canadian The Barbarian
film "The Barbarian Invasions
Invasions" ("Les inva-
sions barbares"). The At Michigan Theater
film, which he also Cinemaginairenc./
scripted, is a touching Pyramide Productions
portrait of a dying man
re-living the life he led through his old
friends and lovers.
The film is in French with subtitles, but
don't immediately shun it because of a little
reading. Foreign films often take on subjects
that Hollywood has tackled before but usually
deal with them more honestly, as foreign
filmmakers are less constrained by the expec-
tations and formulas of Hollywood.
Stories of dying men living out their last
hours show up weekly in the cinemas as well
as on small screen movies-of-the-week, but
Arcand's film sidesteps cliche and creates a
memorable portrayal of a man who regrets
his past and is struggling to accept his death.
Remy (Remy Girard, "The Red Violin") is
dying of cancer, but in his prime, he was an
energetic college professor. While portrayed
as a smart and enthusiastic man, the film
does not hide the fact that he was also a
womanizer. His wife divorced him because of
his philandering, and his grown-up son
Sibastien (Stiphane Rousseau, "Les Dange
invites many of the old man's friends and
lovers to accompany the dying man and bid
him a final farewell. And when the morphine
stops assuaging his father's pain, Sibastien
leaves the hospital to find heroin, meeting
drug addict Nathalie, one of the film's most
interesting characters. Actress Marie-Jose6
Croze brings a removed sympathy to
Nathalie, and her subtly powerful perform-
ance won her the Best Actress Award at the
Cannes Film Festival in 2003.
The supporting characters' quirks make the
film work, even when it threatens to delve
into familiar areas. One of Rimy's friends is
now gay, his other friend has married a girl
half his age who bore him several children,
and two of his ex-lovers still cling to him, as
he clings to the memories of the times he had
with them. Even his ex-wife shows him sup-
port as he becomes increasingly pain-afflict-
ed.
"The Barbarian Invasions" has the capabili-
ty to affect different people in a number of
different ways. It will undoubtedly strike a
nerve with middle-aged adults facing many
of the same problems as the characters in the
film, but its presentation of the complexity of
the father-son relationship will resonate
deeply with an entirely different generation.
The film relies heavily on the importance
of memory in dark times because that is all
Remy has left of his passions. Some of the
most tearjerking moments occur when he 9
recalls his most poignant memories of the
seemingly insignificant moments that end up
meaning the most to him.
At its bittersweet conclusion, the film
reminds the audience that it is possible to
meet death with acceptance and satisfaction,
and with the film's loving and vibrant charac-
ters at Rimy's bedside to comfort him, it is
easy to see why.
Ceci ne pas une tearjerker.
'BARBARIAN' TAKES OVER
2004's Best Foreign Film earns its Oscar
Reux"), now a millionaire living in London, live for much longer, he comes to Canada to
has not spoken to Remy in years. help his father through his last days. He rents
When Sibastien hears that his dad will not out a deserted hospital wing for Remy and
Rice expands sound in Detroit.
By Brandon Harig
Daily Arts Writer
CONCERT REVIEW
While Damien Rice, a native of
Ireland, has not found superstar
recognition in the States, he has
Jobs!!!
Spring/Summer Term
Apply now at the Law Library
enon-law Students
*Law Students
"S.I. Students
Minimum pay is $8.50 per hour!
Apply at the hiring table outside
room S-180 in the Law Library's
underground addition.
AA/EOE
made himself into one of acoustic
rock's premier artists. Accompanied
by a cellist, drummer, guitarist and
female vocalist, Rice played a rivet-
ing show at
Detroit's St.
Andrew's Hall that Damieni
showcased hisf Rice
rock 'n' roll ten- April25,2004
dencies. With this
show, Rice utilized St.Andres Hall
an electronic gui- Detroit
tar and various
voice synthesizers showing not only
his capability to play high quality
live shows, but also an ability to
alter existing songs and add new
layers to his already complex
pieces.
Rice's debut album, O, is a pre-
dominantly acoustic collection of
introspective songs that cover a
broad emotional spectrum. Rice
used this range to his advantage,
mixing intense, spellbinding songs
of noise and anger with slow,
melodic compositions featuring
only him and a guitar. This contrast
developed into an emotionally grip-
ping presentation that made the
audience alternately want to escape
the tension and absorb the show's
intensity.
Rice's use of voice technology
drastically alters his material,
adding a new dimension to his
already potent music. At one point,
Rice recorded a live sample of the
chorus and put it on an increasingly
faster loop until the song came to a
muddled, confusing and ultimately
deafening climax. This sort of loud
experience came through in Rice's
remorseful "I Remember," as well
as the metaphorical "Prague," each
featuring the delicate voice of
singer Lisa Hannigan, who could
hold her own as a solo artist if she
wanted to. The collaboration was
not always effective: "Amie," for
instance, ended with a crash that
came off as clumsy and entirely
unpleasant. Rice redeemed himself,
though, by ending the show with a
meld of "Cold Water" and Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah." The montage
presented a thrilling synthesis of
the old and new, a perfect descrip-
tion of his current sound.
Graceful one minute and artfully
convoluted the next, Rice's live
show presents a fantastic collection
of retailored and artful songs that
are both captivating and resonant.
Utilizing the intimacy of chilling
vocals and the commanding power
of audio technology, the presenta-
tion of songs provided a sold-out
crowd the chance to not only tap
into Rice's psyche, but also to expe-
rience nearly two hours of emotion-
al tempest.
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