Rent Incendies (2010)
4.0 of 5 from 368 ratings
2h 10min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Twins Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) are left two envelopes in their mother's will, asking them to find a brother they never knew existed, and father they believed to be dead. Journeying from Canada to Lebanon to unravel this mystery, they begin to uncover the terrifying secrets of their mother's tumultuous and brutal past, their discoveries moving them ever closer to a gut-wrenching and inevitable truth that will define their very existence.
- Actors:
- Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Mustafa Kamel, Hussein Sami, Rémy Girard, Dominique Briand, Frédéric Paquet, Hamed Najem, Ahmad Massad, Bader Alami, Majida Hussein, Asriah Nijres, John Dunn-Hill, Nadia Essadiqi, Chaouki Charbel, Axel Garbi, Amine Benzenine, Joyce Raie, Celine Soulier
- Directors:
- Denis Villeneuve
- Producers:
- Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
- Writers:
- Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, Wajdi Mouawad, Denis Villeneuve
- Studio:
- Trinity
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Drama
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 12/09/2011
- Run Time:
- 131 minutes
- Languages:
- Arabic DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- Colour
- Bonus:
- Q&A with Director Denis Villeneuve
- Interview with Director Denis Villeneuve
- UK theatrical trailer
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 02/09/2024
- Run Time:
- 130 minutes
- Languages:
- Arabic DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, Arabic LPCM Stereo, French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French LPCM Stereo
- Subtitles:
- English
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Various
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Remembering the Ashes: Incendies Through Their Eyes
- Commentary with Denis Villeneuve
- Interview with Denis Villeneuve
- Q & A with Denis Villeneuve
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Reviews (6) of Incendies
Haunting and a profoundly shocking film - Incendies review by hF
The horrors of war through a family story. I felt like giving my life savings to Amnesty after watching this and had a disturbed night - I would rate it an 18 at least.
At first I found this a little tricky to watch - it moves swiftly between countries and then between different time periods and places in Lebanon, which is has unfamiliar history and geography to me.
I do hope this wasn't based on a true story as it is possibly one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen - it shows the ferocity of the 'civil' and religious wars that have raged in the Middle East for many decades, unrest that tears families apart and cruelty on an inhuman scale.
Do watch it.
Incendies should be compulsory viewing like Schindler's list is in schools.
5 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
Wow - Incendies review by NG
Strong film with a Greek tragedy feel. Long and not for the faint hearted but very moving and well worth the emotional energy.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
The true reality of civil war - Incendies review by TE
A chilling unpacking of the profound horrors of war, especially civil war. The implications of religious sectarianism are spelt out with shocking rigour and detail.
The story itself is gripping and the direction is surefooted. Flashback is an over-used technique these days, but here it is used with great skill, allowing us to follow the quest at the same pace as the sister and brother at the heart of the tale.
The origin of the script is in a successful play and the debt to Greek tragedy is clear.
This is a story that resonates powerfully in the mind for a long time after the final telling image on the screen.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Incendies review by Alyse Garner - Cinema Paradiso
Incendies is a Quebec French language film about two siblings, Simon (Maxim Gaudette) and his twin sister Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) who find themselves traveling to theMiddle East to fulfill their dead mother’s last wishes.
The film opens with a peaceful yet melancholy pan across the beautiful landscape and the image of two young boys being shaved. This is followed by the reading of Simon and Jeanne’s mother’s will which leaves them each in possession of an envelope; one to be delivered to the father they thought was long since dead and a brother they never knew they had. One after another the twins soon find traveling to a strange land trying to untangle the secrets and mysteries of their distant family and their roots; all of which are tragic and shocking.
However the key role in the movie is the character of the dead mother, Nawal, whose story is told through flashbacks dating from the rebellious teenage years to her adulthood. It is not a pleasant story, but one riddled with violence and war, and is not what one would call a “pleasure” to watch. Upon the ending in fact you find you’re feeling quite raw from the experience, which only fathers the aptness of the title which translated means “scorched”.
Despite the uneasy nature of the film it is overwhelmingly and undeniably well done, with excellent performances from all three leads, particularly Lubna Azabal whose depiction of a woman growing up in a war torn country is powerfully moving.
It’s quite surprising that this film failed to win the Best Foreign Film Oscar, for which it was nominated, particularly when after watching it you can’t help but be haunted by the memory of it.