INCENDIES

    SUMMARY

At the reading of their mother Nawal’s will, twins Simon and Jeanne are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes – one for the father they thought was dead and another for a brother they didn’t know existed. Nawal was a mystery to her children and their relationship was a difficult one. Simon is angry and resistant, but Jeanne feels compelled to respect her mother’s requests. As a young woman, Nawal fell pregnant out of wedlock in her Middle-Eastern homeland. After narrowly escaping an honour killing, she was forced to give up her baby boy, vowing one day to find him. Shifting back and forth in time, INCENDIES follows two parallel journeys, expertly interwoven: the twins’ journey to find their brother and father in their mother’s homeland, and Nawal’s journey to find her son. Both journeys shine a disturbing light on Nawal’s past and culminate in a shocking final revelation. The twins piece together the story of the woman who brought them into the world, discovering a tragic fate forever marked by war and hatred as well as the courage of an exceptional woman.

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DAVE G'S INCENDIES REVIEW:

Once again it seems that Hollywood might have been beaten to the punch at producing the Film of 2011 by the French film, Incendies, a film that really does take its audience on a journey – a harrowing journey that they won’t forget for a long time. That is the power of Incendies.

The film tells the story of Jeanne Marwan (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin – Nature Morte, Taking The Plunge 2) and her brother Simon (Maxim Gaudette – Lance Et Compte, TV’S Les Rescapes) whose mother, Nawal (Lubna Azabal – Coriolanus, Here) left a cryptic message with her lawyer, Notary Jean Lebel (Remy Girard – Impasse du desir, TV’S Insecurity) that is handed to them after her death. It tells them to go back to the Middle East and look for their father (whom they believed was dead) and their brother (whom they never knew existed). What follows is a journey that makes them realise how tough their mother’s life really was and is certain to change them forever.

 There really is no way to describe Incendies other than harrowing. Director, Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique, Next Floor) really doesn’t relent on his audience, and it is obvious that no-one that sees this film will ever question whether life in the war-torn Middle East is tough or not. The script never gives away major plot points so the audience is constantly kept on edge at what Jeanne and Simon find. And while I will not give away what is discovered all I will say it is a discovery that will stick with the film’s audience for a long, long time. Mark my words the script for Incendies is one of the finest scripts ever written… if you have an interest in screenwriting then this is a film that you must watch.

If this were a Hollywood film than the world would be talking about Oscars for both Lubna Azabel and Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin. There performances are brilliant in roles that most actresses would struggle to pull off… and all while filming in the harshness of The Middle East.

RATING:- *****  (out of 5)

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