{"id":18479,"date":"2019-06-19T13:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T20:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=18479"},"modified":"2019-06-19T13:00:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T20:00:42","slug":"the-fall-of-the-american-empire-gently-critiques-capitalistic-tendencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=18479","title":{"rendered":"THE FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE Critiques Capitalistic Tendencies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Denys Arcand is a French-Canadian filmmaker who has over the\nyears written and directed several Oscar-nominees (Jesus of Montreal<\/em>, The\nDecline of the American Empire<\/em>) and one Best Foreign-Language Picture\nOscar-winner (The Barbarian Invasions<\/em>). His films tend to be small,\ncharacter-based and set in the Canadian province\n of Quebec. They often deal with\npertinent issues like death, religion, and sex, usually through conversations\nand discourse, laced with subtle humor. While the director’s previous few films\nhaven’t made as strong an impact, The Fall of the American Empire<\/em> is a\nreturn to form, gently examining and wittily critiquing the world’s obsession\nwith wealth and its cost on society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pierre-Paul Daoust (Alexandre Landry) is a struggling,\nsocially awkward writer and intellectual. Frustrated by his inability to find\nsuccess in life, he has been forced to make ends meet by working as a courier delivery\ndriver. After coming upon the scene of a robbery and shootout leaving bodies\nand bags of cash behind, Pierre-Paul can’t resist the urge to take the money\nand run. Hoping that it will improve his prospects, his first transaction\nprocures the services of a high-class call girl, Aspasie (Maripier Morin). As\npolice begin to investigate and question the protagonist, he approaches ex-con Sylvian\n‘The Brain’ ‘Bigras (R\u00e9my Girard) to help him hide the money from authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, the filmmaker’s work is generally low-key,\nmeaning that viewers shouldn’t expect an action picture or thriller. Instead,\nthe screenplay emphasis is on humor and subtle commentary. The opening scene in\nwhich Pierre-Paul attempts to explain his lack of good fortune, inability to\nraise himself above his class standing, and the current, distressed state of\nthe planet utilizes some amusing quips and a valid observation or two. There is\nalso some fun to be had at the actions of the initially altruistic hero after\nhe comes into his fortune. Sylvian Bigras is a stand out, stealing scenes and\nadding several chuckles as he attempts to help guide Pierre-Paul how to conceal\nhis sudden riches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The concept allows for some interesting background themes as\nwell. Although it is never explicitly stated, the presence of money (or lack\nthereof) influences all of the character’s lives and actions to some degree… even\nthe cops step up their game when it is revealed that half of the recovered\nfunds will likely go directly into the force’s coffers. Of course, despite what\nviewers may think upon the introductions of the various leads, the story soon challenges\nsome of the preconceived notions and assumptions made about them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And the film really springs alive during the final third as\na plan is crafted to try and launder the funds. It leads to more remarks as\ncharacters note the pay inequality present in the modern society (one\ndisillusioned figure even notes that the CEO at their place of employment earns\n287 times as much money, an indefensible wage disparity). Their proposed scheme\nfeels incredibly authentic and well-researched as it plays out. And the\nsequence effectively builds up some tension as the police close in. Perhaps\nsome of the interest also lies in the fact that while a fictional tale, it cunningly\ndisplays how wealthy criminals manage to hide illegal activities, avoid paying\ntaxes and stay in positions of power. Overall, there’s a lot more going on here\nthan what initially meets the eye, and it’s remarkable that a movie ultimately\nfocused on a financial transaction is this entertaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Viewers would just be wise to understand that the movie does\ntake a while to get going. There are a lot of little subplots that develop\nslowly, and the pacing is leisurely… frankly, the picture meanders at times.\nAnd one might also be expecting a little more anger and fury from its\ncharacters given the circumstances. But then again, this is a Denys Arcand film.\nThus, it is more inclined to have the exasperated leads express their opinions\nand verbally challenge concepts than start an actual revolution (although a\ncharacter does jokingly mention it towards the close). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, if you’re situated to the right on the political\nspectrum, you’re simply going to hate everything about this movie (after all,\nthe truth hurts sometimes). However, patient viewers looking for an eccentric,\nlow-key foreign caper with a soft-spoken but opinionated slant will find\nsomething to appreciate. After tackling religion, death and sex, Denys’ The\nFall of the American Empire<\/em> astutely delivers a fun excursion that also\nserves as a critique of money and the more crooked individuals listing\nthemselves among the top 1%. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Denys Arcand is a French-Canadian filmmaker who has over the years written and directed several Oscar-nominees (Jesus of Montreal, The Decline of the American Empire) and one Best Foreign-Language Picture Oscar-winner (The Barbarian Invasions). His films tend to be small, character-based and set in the Canadian province of Quebec. They often deal with pertinent issues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[197,1006,3818,4660,4910,5735,13244,16861,20651,20652,20653,20654],"class_list":["post-18479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-197","tag-alexandre-landry","tag-canada","tag-comedy","tag-crime","tag-denys-arcand","tag-maripier-morin","tag-remy-girard","tag-the-fall-of-the-american-empire","tag-the-fall-of-the-american-empire-film-review","tag-the-fall-of-the-american-empire-movie-review","tag-the-fall-of-the-american-empire-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18479\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}