Incendies was the Canadian nominee this year for Best Foreign Language Film. It competed against Dogtooth, Biutiful, Outside The Law and In A Better World, with the latter winning. Having seen four of the five nominees, I feel confident in saying Incendies should have won. While I enjoyed In A Better World, it was not nearly as compelling as Incendies.
Imagine finding out one day that everything you thought you knew about your own heritage was a lie. That is the premise in this tightly, carefully crafted suspense film. The story follows a set of twins, Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) who had an estranged relationship with their mother, Nawal (Lubna Azabal) who recently died. Nawal worked for a notary, Jean Lebel (Remy Girard) who also became a close family friend. She selected Jean as the executor of her will. Nawal's will sets up a mystery that her children will have to unravel to enable her to rest in peace.
Simon claims he is at peace with his mother's passing, but still displays visible anger and resentment. His mother's desire for him to find an unknown brother half a world away falls on deaf ears. Jeanne, a mathematician, feels compelled to find resolution to the matter. Jeanne has been tasked with finding her father. Prior to Nawal's death, the children were told their father was dead and they were shocked to discover they had a brother. Jeanne travels to an unspecified country in the Middle East to begin her journey. While the country is never named, the turbulent events and situations seem to place her in Lebanon. As she retraces her mother's steps, she realizes she is learning about her mother, not her father. Nawal's story is narrated through a series of flashbacks that slowly help unravel a tangled, twisted tale with a shocking climax and poignant ending.
There are several parallels between Incendies and the true story of Souha Bechara, a Lebanese militant who attempted to assassinate General Antoine Lahad and was sentenced to ten years in prison in a famous jail in south Lebanon. I am guessing that Bechara's story provided inspiration for this film, which dates back a decade further than Bechara's own story. While the time lines seemed tight to me at times, the story itself was impeccable. The characters were credible, with adequate depth. While all of the dialogue didn't make it into the sub-titles, it was generally apparent what was being said. The confusion appeared to be intentional. The dialogue provided interesting perspective and allowed the climax to unravel at its own pace rather than a sudden revelation. The plot even had an interesting message. Nawal wanted to break the chain of hatred. She was a link embedded in that chain, but realized that forgiveness was her road to redemption. She accomplished her goal posthumously with some very interesting bumps in the road.
I am unfamiliar with the Canadian cast in Incendies. The two main characters are Nawal and Jeanne. I liked Desmoroux-Poulin as Jeanne, she was solid. But I loved Azabal. Azabal delivered a full palette of emotions with complete sincerity. Her ability to reach me with her performance gave this film a tense edge that might otherwise have been missing. I was gripped by the events I was witnessing, due in large part to her performance. Gaudette was decent in a smaller role. Girard's character was intriguing, a notary of impeccable precision. While the writing structured his character, Girard brought the character to life. An exceptional cast was one more reason Incendies should have won Best Foreign Language Film.
Incendies was rated R by the MPAA. It was an easy rating to give. The film is plagued by realistic violence at every turn. This includes violence against children. The special effects brought that point home even clearer. The constant violence gave this film an edge, but somehow never dragged it down. I never felt fatigued by the violence, which I have with other films. The film also had rape/torture scenes that only showed the after-effects. While those scenes were not visually disturbing, they were effective. The film also has strong language. This film deals with some difficult subject matter even though the ultimate message is a positive one. At least a teenage audience for this one should be fine.
I enjoyed Incendies to the point that I am disappointed this film did not win Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. This film is tense, well constructed, intriguing, layered and has resolution at the end. I liked everything about it. The acting was superb, the dialogue carefully written and the plot suspenseful. One of a kind. 9/10.
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