Arcand’s intelligent, witty, delicate film is a constant joy and for once the academy got it right — this foreign language film richly deserved its Oscar.

It is a beauty. It blitzes all the phoniness, pretentiousness and political correctness around today, savages icons of popular and national culture, gives the finger to religious untouchables like Mother Theresa, and brought the house down.

Arcand's own script is delightfully fluid, his direction poised.

The film is deeply eclectic and confused, the characters largely unreal and caricatured. Arcand has the unfortunate inclination to be paradoxical rather than penetrating.