Contrived and Pointless

Rating: 7/10 (27 June 2011)

Incendies starts with twins a brother and a sister receiving a letter from their late mother. The letter sends them on a mission to find the truth about their backgrounds. The main problem with this film is the purpose of the letter. Why does the mother send them on this mission? The truth revealed is cruel and shocking? The mother has died after finding out the truth, now she wants her children to go on a mission to find the truth rather than reveal to them the truth through the letter. One could argue that the mother wanted to reveal the truth and reveal the horror and the pointlessness of the Middle East conflict. But the journey is contrived and feels as though the screenwriter just wanted to use the incest as shock value.