"The Fall of the American Empire" (2018 release from Quebec) brings the story of Pierre-Paul, a 30-something delivery guy. As the movie opens, Pierre-Paul and his girlfriend are in a discussion over a cup of coffee, eventually leading to their breakup. During Pierre-Paul's round of delivering packages (think UPS), he comes at the wrong spot at the wrong time: a heist is happening, and in the process there is a shoot-out and 2 dead bodies and... 2 large bags of cash, just sitting there. At a whim, Pierre-Paul grabs the bags and takes off... Will Pierre-Paul decide to keep the money? or spend it? can anyone track him down? At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest film of Canadian writer-director Debys Arcand. The title of this movie immediately reminds us of Arcand's mid-80s film "The Decline of the American Empire", and in fact thematically there certainly are similar themes, but to be clear, "The Fall" is not a direct sequel to "The Decline". As to "the Fall", it starts out as a "what will Pierre-Paul do" movie, but about midway through the film, Arcand branches out and makes it also into a fiercely social commentary on today's society of immense inequality (economic and otherwise). There are wonderful acting performances throughout, including Alexandre Landry as well as the stunningly beautiful Maripier Morin (in her first acting performance). Please note that all of the performances are in full-fledged French-Quebecois accent (distinctly different from the 'regular' French that I grew up with in Europe--Belgium in particular).

"The Fall of the American Empire" was released in Canada over a year ago and finally made it to my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this weekend, yes more than a year later. Better late than never. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay (about 15 people), but sill I can't see this playing very long in theaters. For that the movie is frankly too quirky. That said, I quite enjoyed it and if you are in the mood for a foreign crime-with-social message caper, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Funny, sarcastic and ... that's rare!... benevolent. To be seen only with the adorable accent of Quebec.

French-Canadian filmmaker Denys Arcand won the Best Foreign Language Oscar for THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS (2003), and has gained a very loyal group of followers for his films. It should be noted that, despite the title, this is not a sequel or prequel to Arcand's 1986 film THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE. This one is a comedy-crime drama that is as cynical as it is witty, and perhaps as much social commentary as satire. It's yet another rip on capitalism while showing that idealism can work wonders (at least if it's well funded). "Intelligence is a handicap." That's what Pierre-Paul Daoust (played by Alexandre Landry) tells his girlfriend as he breaks up with her in a café. When she points out that he's a delivery driver (similar to UPS), Pierre-Paul riffs on a number of famous writers and philosophers who he claims were dumb as rocks. Her inquiry into Trump being elected President leads to his conclusion, "imbeciles worship cretins". He is the kind of guy that has an answer for everything, and possesses a type of oratory expertise that makes his excuses sound like scientific explanations.

One day while on his route, he stumbles into a robbery gone way wrong. Two thieves were in the process of stealing gang/mob money (and lots of it) when a shooting broke out. In the immediate aftermath, Pierre-Paul makes the snap decision to toss the two huge bags of cash into the back of his deliver truck and take off. This kicks off a chain of events that includes his crossing paths with Aspasie/Camille (Maripier Morin) a high dollar escort whose website features a quote from "Racine". Pierre-Paul is a Ph.D. in Philosophy, so he takes this as a sign.

Shortly after, Pierre-Paul is meeting with Sylvain "the brain" (Arcand regular Remy Girard), a recently released from prison biker who has become an expert on money laundering. The three form an odd partnership and are followed wherever they go by a couple of police detectives. Camille introduces Sylvain and Pierre-Paul to Mr. Taschereau (Pierre Curzi), her dapper former lover who also happens to be the foremost authority on international tax evasion and high finance.

The running joke here is that Pierre-Paul is an upright citizen who has never done anything remotely illegal in his life. In fact, he regularly doles out money to Quebec's homeless and those down on their luck. He also volunteers regularly at a shelter that feeds those in need. The obvious statement here is pointing out the great divide between the wealthy and the poor.

Arcand's film is close to being very good, but falls short in too many areas to reach the height it desires. There is a torture scene that seems totally out of place compared to the tone of the rest of the film, and I refuse to make the link to PRETTY WOMAN - another film where the rich guy wins over the good-hearted sex worker. This film talks about "providence" and just rewards that rarely happen. Is it acceptable to do the wrong thing for the right reasons? Does doing good correct a wrong? Heck, is it even wrong to steal from criminals? What the film actually does is serve up obvious targets with no real solutions offered. The self-congratulatory ending with close-up shots of Quebec's homeless doesn't help.