A Hall of Fame material

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2011)

The film opens at present day in Montreal with twins in their twenties, Jeanne and Simon Marwan, hearing the will of their mother Nawal Marwan, who has just passed away, from a notary Jean Lebel she'd worked for many years. Her last wish is for them to find their father and brother, to their bewilderment, because they thought their father dead and they never heard about having a brother.
At first, only Jeanne is willing to undertake the journey to an unnamed country in the Middle East (however, this clearly refers to Lebanon, where the author of the play himself was born at and escaped from) while Simon, questioning their mother's sanity, refuses to embark on such a crazy quest.
Simultaneously, their mother's story entwines with their research. An incredible story of a woman who is caught between the conflict of religious conflict between Muslims and Christians, especially the war in the country in the 1970s' and 80s'.
What gives the story an extraordinary strength is exactly this comparison between the perceptions Jeanne and Simon who grew up in a free country versus the life, habits and ways of a nation in the middle of a raging conflict in a country so distant from their lives, especially – and this is apparent during the entire film – because Nawal has shared nothing of her past with their children.
This is portrayed during the twins encounter with the local tradition, especially at one moment, when Jeanne meets the villagers who could have known her father and is told by an elderly woman that "she is looking for her father, but is her mother she knows nothing about". This exactly depicts the relation of the audience in the western world, who, unless they've lived in similar conditions, cannot relate to some of Nawal's later radical actions and the endurance with which she accepts the imprisonment that follows.
This endurance of Nawal through the atrocities she is faced with during her life before the final escape to Canada is mind-blowing. Death, abuse, inhumane conditions and life-lasting rage are emotions Villeneuve has captured with a divine skill.
All pieces to the puzzle are gradually served to the audience (depends of how quickly you pick up on the clues) and the moment you realize what actually happened just stops your heartbeat for a second.
Like many of the critics, I would have thought this film would win the Oscar for the best foreign film. It has everything a film should have to be more than welcomed to the Hall of Fame and a message that clearly, is immortal.