Incendies [DVD] (2010)

`Incendies' translates into English as `scorched' and is a good metaphor for the whole film. This is the story of Narwal Marwan (Lubna Azabal), who has left an unusual last will and testament. Said will is then read to her twin children by her former employer and attorney. In it they are both given a letter each to deliver, the daughter Jeanne, has one for the father and her brother Simon, has one for their brother. The problem is that up until this point they believed their father to be dead and this is the first they had heard of a brother.

Jeanne is more enthused than her sibling and sets off with minimal information to find her Pops. Simon is disgruntled with the whole thing and stays at home sulking - that is probably the Gallic influence. Jeanne goes to an unnamed country that is more than likely the Lebanon, where she starts her search for the past. The real past is told in episodic flashbacks, and we start to see what a harrowing and extraordinary life that Narwal has lived. We are taken on a tour of Daresh and Deressa during the civil war. We see religious intolerance, war atrocities and honour killings. Whilst this is all done very tastefully, it has the feel of being much more gritty than it actually is and that has to be a testament to the brilliant direction of Denis Villeneuve (who also adapted this from the stage play).

This is also beautifully shot and has a powerful soundtrack that features Radiohead. Whilst not a short film with a run time of 130 minutes, this did not feel like a chore at all, in fact it seemed to fly by. There are some that will not be satisfied with the ending, but c'est la vie. In French, with some Arabic and English, all well translated, albeit translitterally, this is a film for anyone interested in World cinema. It is also about the indominatabilty of the human spirit and the love bond a mother has for her child. Even if you do not like this film, you would be hard pressed not to be moved by it. I found it utterly absorbing and I hope you do too.

I really do not know how to start this review, yet what I will say is that this is a film like no other. Having watched it at a cinema, it is the first film where I have actually seen the audience remain till the very end, even after the credits finished. The ending will probably leave you in shock, contemplation and amazement at what you have just witnessed.

The film centers around three main characters, the twins and the mother, played brilliantly by Lubna Azabal. The twins are summoned to the offices of their mother's Power of Attorney (Lawyer) and are handed over instructions to trace their deceased mothers past life, which in itself is full of sadness, bravery and humiliation. The children soon go onto realize why their mother was the way she was and they in turn will confront their own prejudices and assumptions.

If you are in the mood to watch an intelligent and thought provoking film, then you cannot go wrong with Incendies. It will live with you long after the end credits have disappeared.

Denis Villeneuve's `Incendies' is the story of a mothers death and her children's struggle to cope with their mothers last wishes in her will.

The mother is Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal), and her children are Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxime Gaudette). Jeanne and Simon discover that their mother's final wish is that they should deliver sealed letters to a father they believed to be dead and a brother they never knew existed. Nawals wish was that she be buried in unhallowed ground face down from the sun. If the letters are delivered, the mother will then permit herself a headstone and a customary burial.

It is not really a choice at all, and so the initial intrigue soon unfolds into a cryptic family mystery, to say too much would spoil the many revelations in an incredible story. Simon is extremely angry and seeks to defy her mothers wishes, but the lawyer forbids it as it was his mothers wish. Jeanne wants to find her father and brother, she knows that she needs to uncover her mothers past to find the clues needed to find her new family.

Jeanne's journey takes her to the Middle East, intercut with Nawal's story since she was a teenager. What follows is a series of personal disasters for Nawal, and ever-increasing revelations for Jeanne, as she travels throughout the region while her country falls further into a civil war. After slowly finding enough clues to start to patch together her mothers life, Jeanne pleads with Simon to come to her aid. Simon wants nothing more than to take Jeanne back home to Canada, but he realises that he must start his own journey to find his family. Jeanne and Simon uncover not only the traumatic life of their mother, but the horrific circumstances in which they came to be born, who their father is, and who their brother is.

`Incendies' may be melodramatic, contrived, even manipulative. It depends on how far you're willing to let this film `take' you. The film's structure has a few inconsistencies, and the final twist is created through a ridiculous set of coincidences that borders on the insane. The political and religious strand to the story may be slightly heavy-handed but it is symbolic not only within its own historical context but one that underlines the domino-effect of the children's and mothers journey. In the end, someone has to end the war and the hate, and Nawals incredible final wish was to do just that.

Unflinching and brutal, `Incendies' is a heartbreaking tragedy of epic proportions. The ending may seem far-fetched, but it still packs an emotional wallop that is hard to ignore, `Incendies' will certainly keep you thinking long after the film has finished.