hemril
I saw the comments saying that this movie is a copy of American Beauty or the Private Life of Walter Mitty. Even if I can see where it is possible to see similarities, I insist this is a whole new movie all together. Many elements are quite original, even though the intention of the movie is to show us how we can see life pass us by and not even be aware that there is something wrong. The movie very clearly asks if a life in a suburb, with commuting to a meaningless job and a life partner who is completely absorb by their work is worth living. To me, this movie goes further than AB or WM because it demonstrate how depressing our world can be. I watched it 6 or 7 times and I still discover hidden messages in some of the images. Denys Arcand is a great director and he has contributed in an important way to helping put Québec cinema on the map. To me, this is an 8.5 so I will give it a 9 on the voting window.
chupito-1
Of course, if you are a person who believes our modern society is the culmination of human evolution and you are comfortable with the western way of life, you might not like this movie so much (referring to the review posted by someone from Chicoutimi). Otherwise, it has to be one of the most brilliant criticisms about the North-American way of life. Another reviewer compared it to Brazil from Gilliam, and there surely are some similarities, though Arcand does not go as far into surrealism. The cast is wonderful. All in all it is a great satire that makes you reflect on many aspects of life in our time. It is funny, but really dark at the same time. I liked it even better the second time I watched it. It just lacks a little something - maybe a stronger climax - to be a masterpiece.
sharkies69
Saw this recently at the Canadian film festival.I was expecting to be let down by this film (as Arcand set the bar very high with his previous films. However I was pleasantly surprised and found this to be very, very entertaining.With the opening shower scene and the fact that his wife is a real estate agent there are obvious comparisons to American Beauty.Ulimately I think Arcand covers more ground in his film and you can't help but laugh at his very dark and also very accurate observations on modern life in a big city.From ridiculous government bureaucracy to disconnection through mobile phones and MP3 players, speed dating and relationships in general Arcand is dead on.I guess the only thing I didn't quite agree with was the notion of moving to the country house away from the city and it's craziness and everything will be just fine.I guess it is ultimately sad that this is a pretty accurate depiction of modern society in many western countries right now. The level of disconnection among people is both sad and and frustrating.But I loved the honesty in the film and found it extremely entertaining and much funnier than his other films.
Harry T. Yung
Watched in the Toronto International Film FestivalNot having seen "The decline of the American empire" and deeply touched by "The barbarian invasions", I find "Days of darkness" (the finale of this "social comments" trilogy) interestingly different but not quite as superb as "The barbarian invasions". Not that this matters but a repeat of an Oscar for best foreign language film is unlikely.The issues tackled in "The barbarian invasions" are prolific (the French Canadian perspective, the Canadian medical system, differences in perspective across the border, friendship, social and 'moral' values, drug addiction, the financial world of today, and more). While there is an appealing sense of humour throughout that movie, it is ultimately heartrending. "Day of darkness", on the other hand, is a biting satire. There are claims that the movie transforms magically, towards the end, into a work of poignant emotion. While not entirely groundless, this is nevertheless an overstatement. The gloomy undercurrent is there right from the beginning, despite some of the hilarious touches. On the other hand, although the end is somberly pensive overall, it is not entirely devoid of the sparks of wicked satire we have witnessed throughout the movie. The story we see is markedly universal, despite being set in a slightly exotic (to the average global audience) stage of Quebec. The time frame could be futuristic but not so much that you would really notice. The protagonist you know only too well, a typical civil servant (this one a "complaint hearer") in a typical modern day environ – bureaucratic government office, lifeless colleagues, aggressive-career-woman real estate agent wife, teenage daughters "who wouldn't even notice it if he drops dead", frustrating routines of daily commuting, and so on. It is almost unnecessary to say what a rich, happy hunting ground a satirist will find here. Things at which this movie pokes fun could be a mile long. These jabs range from brilliant to mediocre. And as mentioned, while you are laughing, you heart sometimes sinks.But that is only half of the movie. The other half is the protagonist's fantasies, which serve as a safety valve to keep him from going insane or maybe even becoming a psychopath (he did talk seriously about want to kill his wife at the end). The cinematic qualities of these fantasies are again uneven so that the movie sometimes drags. But the chief object of his fantasies is a muse-like figure played by beautiful Diane Kruger ("Troy", "Merry Christmas", "National Treasure"), a definite attraction of the movie. Towards the end, not even these fantasies can keep him from reaching his breaking point, when he says to hell with it all, packs a little back and goes off to a somewhat isolated, modest cottage left by his father. That is where we get the poignancy. The end however is not entirely tragic. While the object of his fantasy finally deserts him, his estranged wife and rebellious daughter drive by and drop off some of his old clothes and books, leaving a tiny ray of hope for some sort of reconciliation. But the final tragedy, not so much explicitly shown as left for the audience to reflect on, is the realization that even if he goes back to a "normal" life, nothing is really going to change. The days are indeed dark.One interesting concluding observation I would like to make, as I just watched "The Savages" the day before watching this, is that in both, a large part of the pathos comes from the helplessness and agony in watching aging parents slowly withering away in their sad remaining days. From a macro, non-personal angle, this is something inevitable for the majority of the baby boom population. Each individual case, however, hurts in its own different way as shown in these two films.
