El reino de la belleza

The Decline of the American Empire and The Barbarian Invasions were the only two movies about a group of unlikable people talking and talking and talking that I enjoyed repeatedly and still once in a while I watch them again. I enjoyed other Arcand movies too; so I can state that is one of my preferred directors and found his subjects matters quite interesting and his approach original.

Well "La Regne de la Beaute" (which translates in "The reign of Beauty") is not the case. The whole movie on precious scenery after the other; beautiful people in each frame; perfectly dressed and even the music is beautiful; but what was the point of all that?.

The intellectual (but overall shallow) bourgeois French / Canadian society it is one of his preferred subjects; as it is the declining health care in Canada (or at least in Quebec); but none of these themes are quite developed here.

The infidelity of a young successful architect without considering his wife's slow descending into madness; could be an statement about a society that became so cold that family is no longer important (none of the characters has kids and nobody really seems to care about infidelities or jealously ) At the end is about a year in the life of a group of people with lots of personal issues resolved in an absolute cold manner.

I will perhaps seat through the movie again; but at first sight colder than all the snow in Quebec.