Where Does Your Story Start?

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2015)

I was absolutely blown away by this film. It's one of those movies that sticks with you awhile after watching. I cant get this film out of my head. Not only is a beautiful looking film, the story is told in a beautiful way. Sure, it's a story that takes place during some of the middle east conflicts, but that's not what you will remember from Incendies. You will remember the characters and the relationships or lack of relationships that each of them have. Denis Villenueve gave us yet another masterpiece here.
The film deals with twins who are looking over their mother's will when they find she has given them each a mission before they are allowed to bury her. The mission is to find their brother, who they didn't know existed, and their father, who they assumed was dead. It's such a unique and interesting premise. Definitely one that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. But what's great about Incendies and Villenueve's directing is that it doesn't rely on actual suspense like scenes to make you feel suspenseful. In other words, the film can be shocking but it doesn't rely on big shootouts or real life dangerous scenes. I just loved that the film was able to pull off vulnerability without cheapening the shock value. The film is told through two parallel stories. The mother, Nawal, in her younger days traveling through the middle east going from jail to jail. And her kids, looking for the brother and father through various people who knew Nawal back in the day. The first half of the film when the mother and daughter are both going on their journeys I felt was more interesting than the brother's arc, but they all turned out to be valuable in the end.
I loved the subtle emotional acting that the children gave. Often, Villenueve would keep the camera on their faces for a long period of time while they hear something life changing. It proved to be a great technique in creating more emotion than the scene would have otherwise called for. Of course, this film is known to be shocking and have loads of twists and turns, but I never felt the film reached for too much shock value. Every twist seemed possible and something that actually could happen. And it's a tribute to the lead actors that they were able to ground the film in reality enough to never take me out of it. Incendies is one of those films that I put off seeing for awhile because I didn't think the story interested me enough, but I'm now jealous of anyone who hasn't seen it and will be able to experience it for the first time. It's a film that is both devastatingly beautiful and beautifully devastating. I absolutely loved this film.
+Lead performances
+Shocking twists and turns
+Villenueve's directing style
+Edge of your seat drama
+Parallel storytelling
9.4/10