Family tragedy intertwines with geopolitical conflict in masterful ways

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2017)

Before his arthouse-Hollywood fame Denis Villeneuve adapted Wadji Mouawad's play into "Incendies," a powerful film combining family epoch, mystery, political commentary and psychological drama.
It all begins in French Canada with what is kind of a goofy scene: in the reading of their mother's will twins Jeanne and Simon are tasked with a journey into the Middle East to find out about the secret life their mother Nawal led there before moving to Canada. That's where the goofiness ends. "Incendies" does have the infinitely complex plot structure of the most exciting and challenging thriller, but within that compelling structure lies an intricate web of meaning.
The story alternates between different time levels, illuminating the twins' search as well as the hidden life of their mother. Villeneuve forces overwhelmingly devastating scenes on the viewer, taking his audience to the core of war in general and the conflict in Middle East in particular. This is definitely not a feel good flick; a lot of what I saw made me shake physically the first time around. Still, in the middle of all that hopelessness, all that human suffering and senselessness there are glimmers of hope. Few and far between as they might be they are still bright enough to prevail.
At 130 minute "Incendies" doesn't contain one single unnecessary second. It's tight, emotionally resonant, intellectually challenging and urgently relevant on countless levels. It's not much of an exaggeration to state that this film is about everything in the sense that it covers the levels of individual experience, cultural processes, political workings and humanity in general. And it does it all exceptionally well. Having recently rewatched it after 7 years, I'm again completely dumbfounded.