Brilliantly directed portrayal of life in times of chaos marred by a flashy climax !!!

Rating: 7/10 (24 October 2015)

'Incendies' is a film directed by Denis Villeneuve and it is adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's play of the same name with the screenplay co- written by Villeneuve and Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. The film's plot has an epic-feel to it because the film takes place over a lengthy spell of time covering a large number of years. The film stars Lubna Azabal as Nawal Marwan and Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette as Nawal's twin children Jeanne and Simon respectively. After Nawal's death, Jeanne and Simon get informed that their mother had left two letters one for each of them respectively. They learn that their father is alive and they have a brother whose existence they were unaware of. Jeanne is supposed to deliver her letter to the father, while Simon is supposed to deliver his letter to their brother. This mission takes both of them individually to an unnamed Middle-Eastern country as they try to piece together clues to gather more and more information about their mother's past.
This is a film that becomes very tough to watch at times. Villeneuve really goes for a gritty, stripped down depiction of what it is like to survive in a country divided by hate and experiencing civil war. The film is brilliantly directed and Villeneuve's brutal guerrilla style of shooting reminded me Alfonso Cuarón's style in 'Children of Men'. The themes of the film range from the absurdity of hatred borne out of religious diversity to elements of immigration. It shows the sorry state of the lives of children in countries and regions devastated by war. Their lives pretty much end before they even begin. The film also underlines the concept of showing people living is financially well off countries, the privilege that they sometimes forget to acknowledge. The acting is brilliant from the main players, but a special mention has to be given to Lubna Azabal. A fair portion of the narrative of the film rests on her shoulders. The screenplay is cleverly written. The film doesn't give you all the information all at once. The expositions happen gradually. The narrative shifts from mother to daughter constantly in a very Godfather II-esque manner.
I would have probably given this film a 9, had it not been for the ending. The shocking revelation at the end is genuinely unexpected and has an impact while you're watching the film. But once you start to think about it, it becomes very difficult to buy it. To some extent it might be meaningful from a thematic standpoint, but in a film directed in such an aggressively realistic manner, even symbolism has to have some literal believability in the context of the plot.
'Incendies' is a well directed, well acted film about war, hatred, intolerance and the hardships of living in ultra-conservative and unstable societies. The film will have an impact and make you ponder about life itself. But the ending of the film in my eyes hinders it from making the transition from good to great.