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The Decline of the American Empire (1986)

★ 7.1R101 minDirector: Denys Arcand

1986 film by Denys Arcand

The Decline of the American Empire (French: Le Déclin de l'empire Américain) is a 1986 Canadian sex comedy-drama film directed by Denys Arcand and starring Rémy Girard, Pierre Curzi and Dorothée Berryman. The film follows a group of intellectual friends from the University of Montreal history department as they engage in a long dialogue about their sexual affairs, touching on issues of adultery, homosexuality, group sex, BDSM and prostitution. 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 at the Cannes Film Festival, nine Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture, and was the first Canadian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film won the People's Choice Award at the 11th Toronto International Film Festival. It was followed by two sequels, The Barbarian Invasions in 2003 and Days of Darkness in 2007.

Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

FAQ

What is The Decline of the American Empire about?
The Decline of the American Empire (1986) — A group of academics at the University of Montreal--most long time friends--plan to gather at the lakeside recreational home of Rémy and Louise, who have been together for 20 years, married for 15 of them, for dinner. Louise knows Rémy cheats on her, but believes he only does so
Is The Decline of the American Empire based on a true story?
See the production background and source material details on the official Wikipedia article.
Is The Decline of the American Empire scary?
Content rating: R. See the reviews tab for parental guidance and tone notes.