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I wrote this script over the last two years. The subject had been haunting me for a long time, but I never seemed to find an approach that felt right to me. It always ended up in bleak, depressing scripts. One day, it dawned on me I should reunite THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE cast of wonderfully odd characters; their sense of humour, their cynicism and their wits would breathe in the lightness I was aspiring to.
It so happened all the actors were ready and willing to embark on a new venture. Obviously, with the passing of days, the mood was now darker and the inevitable, closer. It was time to take stock.
Rémy is convinced we have entered barbarian times. He believes that western civilisation, which started with Dante and Montaigne, is about to disappear. To him, what matters is the preservation of the written word, the manuscript, as in the Middle Ages. That will be Nathalie's task as she inherits his library.
The American Empire is the world's absolute ruler. As such, it will have to constantly push back the stream of barbarian attacks. 9-11 was the first that succeeded striking at the Empire's heart. The first of many more to come...
I feel more and more out of synch with today's reality. The most common sign of getting old, I guess. The constant acceleration of life and media roar are repulsive to me. I have little interest for digital films. I love dialogue and actors.
I believe that countries are vanishing. To the future generations, the notion of borders will be almost irrelevant. That's where Rémy's son is at. There will be American citizens on one side and non-resident aliens on the other. Seen from Washington, the French, the Bulgarians or the Japanese are one and the same thing: barbarians.
Denys Arcand, May 2003
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