It pulls you in close, never letting go until the last frame finally releases you and allows you to expell all your emotions in one gut-wrenched gasp.

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2018)

Though sometimes it seems as though information is given to us slightly too early, this often leads to some decent dramatic irony and does 'distract' from - and thereby make all the more impactful - the flick's big, blindsiding final reveal which is essentially as shocking as it is sickening, a harrowing revelation for both the audience and the picture's principle characters that has massive repercussions for both, and serves to recontextualise everything that came before it in a significant yet suitably subtle way, mostly making up for the slightly slow pace and occasional meandering that had marred the piece before. Once you've settled into the strange pace and presentation of 'Incendies (2010)', you're treated to an increasingly dark exploration of a woman you know to be dead, whom is still as strong a presence as any other character, and the children who slowly learn about her life alongside us, as we both inch ever closer to an ending that will haunt our memories for days, a tragedy of Greek proportions set against a backdrop of tragedies that all meet that same standard. As each new revelation ratchets up the suspense and plumets us in to increasingly dire territory, an unexpectedly grim realism begins to perforate the entire piece, steeping it in an often unspoken sadness and a thick air of mystery. It's this that gets under your skin and pulls you in deeper, never letting you go until the last frame finally lets you slump back in your seat and release all your emotions in one gut-wrenched gasp. It's an ever-escalating devestation of our expectations. It isn't darkness for darkness sake, rather an exploration of the characters within these situations. It's also the rare film that rests upon withholding information that would seem fairly simple, yet doing so for legitimate narrative reasons, and providing it in intelligent, usually exposition-light ways. While the tragedy exists for a reason, it is indeed tragedy. Blindsiding, unflinching tragedy, at that. The film knows when to show and when not to. All in the aid of making each moment the most impactful it can be, making you feel like you are the child of this poorly-treated, mysterious mother as you learn of her past. You'll often find yourself asking: how can things get worse? Trust me... they do. It's brilliant. 8/10