A life of wine, women, and, no, not song, but left-wing causes, has left Remy (Remy Girard) pretty much alone and dying from cancer.

Writer/Director Denys Arcand gives us a film that dispels the myth that we will all die a happy death.

Remy's son Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) lives in London and doesn't have anything to do with his father, who rejects him because of his capitalist ways, but he comes in and gets things done for his father. The Canadian hospital and the unions are not presented in a good light. Sebastian has to grease palms with money everywhere he turns. He also calls his father's old friends and associates to get them to visit. It really gets funny when he naively goes to the police to find a source for heroin as the morphine is no longer working to alleviate his father's pain.

It is not only the Canadian health care system that is pilloried, but the Catholic Church, and the imperialism of many nations. It is truly a thinking person's film. There are so many great lines throughout and some great thoughts on life and death.

While Nathalie (Marie-Josée Croze) helped him ease into death, his friends relieved their youth around him.

He lived his life on his own terms, and he went out that way.

I want more Denys Arcand.

I must first point out that I have NOT yet seen Decline of the American Empire (the prequel to this movie). However, it doesn't matter, as the story is completely watchable without it and I didn't even suspect there was a prequel until I checked IMDb.

Although I felt the lead character was a pig who had wasted his life in some ways by being so self-indulgent and leaving his family, I appreciate the movie because DESPITE this, I was very engaged and cared about what happened to this less than likable man. The story is a non-flinching and direct film that looks at the dying process. It is very rare to see a movie do this and it succeeded marvelously. This film also had some daring aspects as it talked about the use of heroin for pain control and the right to die. As a result, it really made me think--and that's rare for a movie!

PS--I was intrigued by how openly the film addresses the short-comings in the Canadian health care system. I could definitely see why this man chose to go to a beloved place to die instead of hanging around the hospital. What a dump!

UPDATE---I just saw The Decline of the American Empire and BOY DID I HATE IT!! Watching these characters drone on and on and on and on and on about their sordid sex lives really annoyed and bored me. How amazing it is to find a sequel that is head-and-shoulders better than the original. My advice is JUST watch this film and avoid the prequel.

It's 17 years after Denys Arcand's "The Decline of the American Empire" and this is a continuing story of these characters. Leftist Rémy (Rémy Girard) is in an overcrowded Montreal hospital. His estranged capitalistic son Sébastien returns from London to manipulate Quebec's healthcare system. Rémy is joined by his friends and family as they renew their chemistry. A TV commentator refers 9/11 as maybe the beginning of the great barbarian invasions. Sébastien gets his father sent to an American hospital and finally back to the cottage.

It is a man in the twilight of his life having one final good times. Some say that your life flashes before your eyes. This is one long series of flashes. It is fun and unexpected. It is smart and feels like a good time with old friends. The old footage of pass goddesses is good for the cinephiles. There is also a sense of the changing world. I do like the older folks hanging out together more than the new younger additions. It's a great reunion.