If its title translates out of French and into English as "Scorched", then this is a near red-hot drama making the difficulties of taking this subject matter on look easy.

Rating: 7/10 (9 February 2012)

The opening scenes of Incendies paints an image of a cantankerous elderly women whom, even in death, is forcing her children to run around on goose chases after a series of eccentric entries to a will that does nothing but pose further questions and cause further action when closure and other such things are all that's desired at such a difficult time. We feel sorry for the kids, a Canada residing brother and an elder sister; we feel a little bitter towards their recently deceased mother and then we witness a duel pilgrimage across the Eurasian border so startling that words such as 'humbling' don't really do it the sorts of justice it requires.
The family to whom all this bother is unfolding are the Marwan's: siblings Jeanne (Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Gaudette), here in the present day, and then that of Lubna Azabal's Nawal, way back when. Needless to say, I'd rather have the modern-day set bother and the strife of the siblings than that of Nawal's. Jeanne and Simon sit silently in a solicitor's office, an odd air of grief and frustration abound as these requests documented by Nawal are read; requests more broadly encompassing the apparent need for the two to journey great distances and find a specific someone which will reveal all. Jeanne is the one who takes the plunge and ventures away from the niceties of her first world, economically developed living quarters to that of where Asia meets Europe. In the solicitor's office, Jeanne chirps up ahead of Simon when asked if there are any problems or inconveniences with what is being presented to them – yes, there is and the labelling of this person as being the sort to initially put the foot forward is established when Simon only begins to enquire once the green light has been instigated.
A maths teacher, so good with problem solving and equations which are seemingly impenetrable, Jeanne heads out to a place which is ambiguous in its actual identity and that people appear to entrust is more broadly representative of Lebanon, in spite of the fact a Palestinian flag is very briefly identifiable in the corner of the frame at on one fleeting instance. Her journeys take her there so as to look for what the will says is a long-lost father as well as another brother whom neither she nor Simon ever knew of. Unfolded in crisp tandem is the tale of their mother some thirty-odd years ago, and Nawal's own hardships born out of persistent rejection from peers; religious circles and family members. It leads her to exploring this free-spirited characteristic embedded within by herself, and on a very dangerous line throughout, as she attempts to look for a son born out of wedlock and to a certain individual of a certain ilk many of whom within Nawal's initial circles take issue.
The parallel between either journey mother and daughter undertake, similar in structure and scale, is fairly clear; the quest taking either woman all around the houses, from bombed out orphanages to grotty prisons. There is one sequence, a sort of grotesque centrepiece in its content but quietly beautiful in its harsh and thoroughly professional depiction, which is absolutely terrifying: a sequence which depicts a bus full of Muslims being ambushed by that of a Christian group of militants during this, a Civil War which has broken out in the undetermined nation. It is a sequence remarkable for its stark nature anyway, but additionally because it isn't necessarily the emotional crux of the film. The scene is made more impacting given the happenings within recent years of the film's production in nations such as Pakistan and Angola, and attacks relayed onto that of sporting personnel whose tales have graced news reports when their buses have come under fire and lives have been lost. Additionally, the sorts of brutality aimed at those within does well to subvert the idea of anonymous Muslim aggressors, of whom are shrouded in mystery and come complete with towels around their faces, attacking innocents and children by reversing the religious backgrounds as well as the respective roles of victimised and perpetrator. Here, Christian soldiers go on a rampage thus destroying a small, and often easily demonised, Muslim congregation. Regardless of that individual sequence's affecting qualities, Denis Villeneuve's film is a real sucker punch of emotion and biting self-discovery which, at certain stages, crept up on me; a really ambitious and worthwhile piece.