Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Remy Girard
Release Date: April 21, 2011
In our day to day lives we make a number of preconceptions about the people around us. We think we know everything about who a person is and why they are that way. But can we ever truly understand another person until we see what they see, until we feel exactly how they feel?
That is the powerful question posed by acclaimed Canadian French director and screenwriter, Denis Villeneuve, in his politically and emotionally charged film, Incendies.
Beginning in Quebec, French speaking Canada, the film follows twins Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette) who, on the death of their mother Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal), receive two letters addressed to their assumed dead father and unknown brother. Under their mother’s will no proper burial can take place until both letters are delivered and her final wish is completed. To honour Nawal, the twins must venture into the heart of their mother’s mysterious past in the religiously torn Middle East of the 1970s, learning that sometimes what we think we know is never completely right.
Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s play, of the same name, Incendies, this is not a film for the easily skirmish as the major themes are occasionally overly violent and disturbing. But Villeneuve’s film is utterly compelling, keeping the mystery alive and beating up until the very last scene. His use of Nawal’s story, running parallel to the twins search for answers, provides some of most intriguing scenes, exploring the historical brutality that shaped the Christian/Islamic conflict of 1970s and torn the Middle Eastern community apart.
With difficult material to cover the cast are brilliant, bringing their own unique talents to an array of multilayered characters. Azabal is flawless in her performance as Nawal, successfully balancing her character’s inner struggles with her stoic facade, shaped through years of religious violence and hatred.
While feeling at times a little slow and confusing, especially in relation to the films locations, the deeper meaning at the heart of this film is never lost. Incendies captures the true social impact of religious conflicts and their continual affect on the lives and identities of those who were touched by them. By reversing the audiences preconceived ideas about the Middle East and its history, Incendies illustrates how little we really know about the world and the people who surround us.
This review will also be published in the fourth issue of Vertigo (UTS’ student) magazine, out very soon! Keep an eye out for it.
The Film Dissection 