"Death is never the end of the story. It always leaves tracks."

Rating: 10/10 (5 November 2017)

I don't know if I've ever seen a more heartbreaking and shocking story. Check that, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" was another film that served a solid punch to the gut that remains with you a long time. I have to credit some other reviewers for this film to identify the location of the story and place it in context of the Lebanese civil war. I might have considered it myself if I hadn't been so absorbed by the story and the intricately detailed revelations regarding Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal) and her twins, son Simon (Maxim Gaudette) and daughter Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin). One must pay attention though, to the non-linear story telling style of director Denis Villeneuve, as well as the identity of the Christian and Muslim factions involved in war time brutality and atrocity. Apart from the principal story, the scene that will stay with you for a long time involves a Christian militia attack on a busload of Muslims attempting to flee their war torn and devastated city. A noble sacrifice on Marwan's part turns into a horror spectacle when a young child is gunned down by the militants. The picture exemplifies the terror of war and it's heartbreaking effect on those fortunate to survive.