Incendies
The breakthrough film by Denis Villeneuve (Dune) was this powerful tragedy of fate about a Canadian twin brother and sister who unravel some mysteries from their mother’s past.
Twenty-somethings Jeanne and Simon, naturalised in Canada, are dumbfounded when the notary hands them two letters from their late mother. One is addressed to their father, whom they have always thought had died a heroic death; the other is to an unknown brother with three tattooed dots on his foot. Until they are found, their mother does not want a name on her grave. Jeanne immediately packs her bags to search for her father in the Middle East. Twin brother Simon – who had a cold and distant relationship with his mother – is not at all interested in this quest, but when Jeanne needs his help, he joins her after all. The gripping search for their mother’s past deals with the indelible scars and traumas of rape and violence, of genocide and terrorism. As the denouement approaches, this powerful, poetic story, based on a very successful play by Wajdi Mouawad, has grabbed the viewer by the throat. (av)