The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', middle-aged Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. His ex-wife, Louise, 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 Canadian healthcare system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while reuniting some of Remy's old friends, including Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude, who return to see their friend before he passes on.

Genres: Comedy, Drama

What to watch after The Barbarian Invasions

• Jesus of Montreal (1989) — Denys Arcand directed both
• Contempt (1963) — Same feel: reflective, philosophical
• Tell No One (2006) — Marie-Josée Croze appears in both
• Beau Travail (1999) — Same feel: reflective, melancholy
• Love Me If You Dare (2003) — Same feel: melancholy, complex
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) — Same feel: melancholy, emotional