Arab Spring's origins

Rating: 10/10 (30 June 2011)

World attention throughout much of this year has focused on uprisings in the Arab world. The Tunisian people forced the country's dictator to flee, and the Egyptian people overthrew Hosni Mubarak, while protests continue in Bahrain and Yemen.
However, it's important to understand the roots of these uprisings. Denis Villeneuve's "Incendies" shows some examples. The movie focuses on Nawan Marwal (Lubna Azabal), an Arab immigrant in Quebec whose final wish is for her son and daughter to give some information to their father (whom they have never met) and their brother (who they never knew existed). So begins the children's journey to find out why their mother fled her native country.
The native country is never identified, although it appears to be Lebanon. And in finding out what Nawan saw in her native country -- told in flashback -- we see some VERY ugly stuff. The movie leaves practically nothing to the imagination. But it's all part of the children's learning the family history. And certainly, the horror that Nawan witnessed should give the audience an idea of why the Arab world has been rising up for the past six months (in that respect, it probably would have been appropriate to give "Incendies" Best Foreign Language Film). Above all, it's a very good movie, although very gut-wrenching.
Also starring Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard and Allen Altman.