Incendies (2010)

Twins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.

Director:

Denis Villeneuve

Writers:

Denis Villeneuve (scenario), Wajdi Mouawad (play)

Stars:

Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette

Top Rated Movies #110 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 39 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mustafa Kamel	...	Barbier de la Milice / Officer Milice Chrétienne
Hussein Sami	...	Nihad (5ans)
Rémy Girard	...	Notaire Jean Lebel
Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin	...	Jeanne Marwan
Maxim Gaudette	...	Simon Marwan
Dominique Briand	...	Professor Niv Cohen
Lubna Azabal	...	Nawal Marwan
Frédéric Paquet	...	Médecin a l'urgence
Hamed Najem	...	Wahab
Ahmad Massad	...	Bassem Marwan
Bader Alami	...	Nicolas Marwan
Majida Hussein	...	Grand-mére de Nawal
Asriah Nijres	...	Sage-Femme
John Dunn-Hill	...	Professeur Saïd Haidar
Nadia Essadiqi	...	Secrétaire Université

Storyline

A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love.

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Plot Keywords:

twin brother and sister | family relationships | middle east | university | torture | 

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Taglines:

The search began at the opening of their mother's will.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film won the Best Feature Film awarded by the jury at the 2011 Adelaide Film Festival. Director Denis Villeneuve responded by saying that "As a poetic sign of gratitude to [the] Adelaide Film Festival, I'll give the name of 'Adelaide' to one of my main characters in my next film. So thank you one thousand times to [the] Adelaide Film Festival!". However Villeneuve has yet to name any of his characters Adelaide in any of his films since.

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Goofs

On 29:00 the license plate of the Honda CRV parked on a corner clearly reads: DUBAI.

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Quotes

Notary Jean Lebel: Will of Mrs. Nawal Marwan... To Notary Jean Lebel: Bury me with no casket, no prayers, naked, face down, away from the world. Stone and epitaph. I want no gravestone, nor my name engraved anywhere. No epitaph for those who don't keep their promises. To Jeanne and Simon: Childhood is a knife stuck in your throat. It can't be easily removed. Jeanne, Mr Lebel will give you an envelope. The envelope is for your father. Find him, and give it to him. Simon, the notary will give you an envelope... The...

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Crazy Credits

'Mr. Leonard Cohen I need your help, please call me." - Denis Villeneuve

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Water for Elephants (2011)

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Soundtracks

Nami Nami
Written by Marcel Khalife

User Reviews

Recommended viewing

During the reading of the will of their mother's, a twin brother and sister learn of some unusual last wishes. Amongst other requests, two envelopes need to be delivered to respectively the father of the two and a brother whom are both unknown. The quest leads the twins through the Middle East where they slowly learn of the horrific tales which is the life history of their late mother.

The movie tells a very graphic but endearing story, perfectly shot and acted allowing the viewer to get fully immersed into the journey and findings of the twins. Through flashbacks we learn about the hardship of the mother and, eventually, the fate of the father and brother. As a treat, there is a great twist at the end which is really the icing on the cake.

Highly recommended.

92/100

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [United Kingdom] Official Facebook [United States]

Country:

Canada France

Language:

French Arabic English

Release Date:

12 January 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

Incendies

Filming Locations:

175 Boulevard Deguire, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$6,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,679, 24 April 2011

Gross USA:

$2,071,334

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,099,598

Company Credits

Production Co:

micro_scope, TS Productions, Phi Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1