The Barbarian Invasions follows a father/son relationship through icy resolve to mutual acceptance, as French banker son Sebastien (Stephane Rousseau) has to leave his comfortable broker life in London, when he learns that his father Remy (Remy Girard) has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, in order to help ensure that he gets the best treatment Montreal can offer.

Remy, a university lecturer and serial womaniser, won't agree to Sebastien's idea of trying to fight the disease by seeking the best treatment available in America. He would rather die gracefully, without the need for treatments that may not work, in the company of his friends. And so Sebastien has to set about persuading his mother - Remy's ex-wife - old friends and mistresses to come and visit, as well as using the lure of money to turn the second-class health care into something a good deal better.

Writer/director Denys Arcand calls The Barbarian Invasions a revisiting of the cast that made up his 1987 film The Decline Of The American Empire, rather than a direct sequel. Winner of the Best Screenplay award in Cannes 2003 and Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival the same year, it has much to recommend it.

The script captures the differences between father and son, allows Remy and his friends to comment in a satirical manner on much that is going on in the world, raising questions about money as the solution to every problem and allowing the subject of euthanasia to be raised as an alternative. Perhaps, its only weakness is that, at times, it seems so burdened with dialogue that it's hard to keep up.

The comedian Rousseau is excellent in a straight role, as the resourceful Sebastien - he may remind you of a certain David Duchovny. Girard is perfectly believable, as the unlikeable and opinionated Remy, whom you warm to by the end, even feel sorry for.

The film is most memorable as an intelligent drama, in which characters question and argue, commenting on many things, from international instability to the plight of the Catholic Church, as well as treating the central theme of terminal illness with respect.

The Barbarian Invasions uses a sense of perspective and light humour to give Remy the perfect opportunity to reunite with old friends in his final days. This is how many of us might choose to go, given the chance.