Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- sardonic
- melancholic
- wistful
- reflective evening
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics found the film intermittently amusing and charming, with strong realistic passages and Marc Labrèche’s performance, but broadly judged it uneven, repetitive and less powerful than Arcand’s earlier work.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Jean-Marc alternates between bureaucratic routine and imagined lives as a knight, sexual adventurer and romantic figure.
The film frames Jean-Marc’s family estrangement, bureaucratic apathy and social dissatisfaction as symptoms of a broader dark age.
His wife leaves for Toronto, his daughters ignore him and he attempts to reorder his family and social life.
Medieval fair imagery and knightly phantasms interrupt the realistic Montreal civil-service setting.
Films like Days of Darkness, and why
The Barbarian Invasions
satirical middle-class disillusionment, comic fantasy and melancholic social observation
Brazil
alienated protagonist, bleakly comic modern life and surreal wish fulfillment
The Science of Sleep
fantastical escape from domestic dissatisfaction, wistful tone and emotionally searching protagonist
American Beauty
midlife crisis, sexual fantasy and sardonic critique of contemporary society
Movie Details
- Director
- Denys Arcand
- Release Date
- 2007-09-26
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (79)
Cast
- Marc Labrèche
- Sylvie Léonard
- Diane Kruger
- Caroline Néron
- Rufus Wainwright
- Macha Grenon
- Emma de Caunes
- Didier Lucien
- Rosalie Julien
- Jean-René Ouellet
Common questions
- What is Days of Darkness about?
- A disenchanted Montreal civil servant retreats into knightly and erotic fantasies while trying to reclaim a life hollowed out by family neglect and bureaucratic routine.
- What is Days of Darkness like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Days of Darkness as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Days of Darkness violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Days of Darkness.
- What did critics think of Days of Darkness?
- Critics found the film intermittently amusing and charming, with strong realistic passages and Marc Labrèche’s performance, but broadly judged it uneven, repetitive and less powerful than Arcand’s earlier work.
- Which films are like Days of Darkness?
- Films with a similar feel include The Barbarian Invasions, Brazil, The Science of Sleep, and American Beauty.
- How long is Days of Darkness?
- Days of Darkness runs 104 minutes.
