Incendies
2010
***
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Allen Altman, Mohamed Majd, Nabil Sawalha
Jeanne and Simon receive cryptic letters and instructions from their recently deceased mother Nawal. The letters lead them on a transformative journey to the Middle East, where they unravel a haunting family tragedy entwined in the region's war-torn history. Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad's 2003 play is a personal and political tragedy set in Lebanon, although the country is never explicitly mentioned. Lubna Azabal gives a brilliant performance as Nawal, whose hard-hitting story is told in gripping flashbacks. However, it's all for nothing in the end. The central mystery leads to a shocking twist, which requires a ridiculous amount of contrivances and coincidences on two different continents. I also struggle to understand why Nawal thinks her children should learn the truth.
