Incendies, 2011.
Canada/France.
Certificate 15.
Out now on DVD
Incendies is Canadian director Denis Villeneuve’s fifth feature length film and it’s both devastating and beautiful. Tackling themes of love, hate, war, religion, deceit, retribution (I could go on) this film is no Friday night filler. Skilfully adapted from a play by Wajdi Mouawad, Villeneuve is clearly a writer/ director with confidence and ambition.
The film takes you on an epic and cathartic journey navigating its way across the vast, maddening deserts of civil war and through the tumult of factional family relationships.
The film follows two twins who carry out the final wishes of their recently deceased mother, Narwal Marwan. They embark on a quest to find a brother they never knew they had and a father they thought was dead. This responsibility takes the twins from the cold, urban space of Canada to the rugged, contradictory terrain of Lebanon at the height of the civil war.
Incendies covers so much emotional and historical ground that it can comfortably sit next to the finest Greek or Shakespearian tragedies. The grand narratives explored in every scene of the film are done so with a realist aesthetic and so never fall into cliché or parody. A generous use of handheld camera and a simple palette of white, beige and brown give the film a documentary feel that allows you to believe in the characters, and their journey, without prejudice.
There is much bravura scene construction in the film, including the opening scene, which has one of the best uses of a Radiohead song I’ve ever witnessed; contributing to the cross cultural nature of the film. The most startling moment however is when a group of Christian fundamentalists attack a bus full of Arab civilians. The shear horror of the scene is a testament to cinema’s power and Villeneuve’s talent.
The film leaves you exasperated at the needless waste of war, shocked at mankind’s ability to inflict pain but comforted by a mother’s capacity to love. Incendies will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some may find the plot too farfetched and the multiple narratives distracting. But a combination of bold storytelling and spot on acting makes Incendies, for me at least, the film of the year.
[Rating: 5]
