filmbore pick of the week - Incendies

Incendies

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Denis Villeneuve, Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne

Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard

Year: 2010

Languages: French, Arabic

UK rental release: September 2011

IMDb

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Well, I've crossed two bodies of water over the last few weeks, through three different countries, all of which have provided me with movies in my mother language of English. This time around I'm venturing back into my usual international approach and catching up on the foreign tongue by choosing a bilingual tale. Yet, I'm not travelling too far this time. I'm nipping just over the border from last week's peek at the US to neighbouring Canada to review a picture, adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's award winning play about family struggle through political war, and the mystery of The Woman Who Sings, with Incendies.

Nawal Marwan has just passed away. An unstated accident has caused her death and her bereaved twin children, now adult, are sitting in on the opening of her will by notary Jean Lebel (Rémy Girard, The Barbarian Invasions). He notifies them that her assets are to be split equally between them both, but then leads into some obscure demands.

She requires an unusual burial: naked, face down, no coffin, no gravestone - a shameful interment. The reason for this is unclear, but the next demand may lead to some answers. 

In Jean's hands are two letters to to be handled by the twins, Jeanne and Simon. At this point they find out that they have a brother they never knew they had, and that their father, believed dead, is alive. There is a letter addressed to them too, but they cannot receive it until they have located their two estranged family members to deliver the messages. When the mission is complete, they are also be permitted to lay a gravestone for their mother...once a promise has been kept.

It's an unusual start to any adventure, but Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Canadian TV star) is keen to dig further. She's a lecturer's assistant in the study of mathematics. Through her teaching she has a logical approach to dilemmas, which fuels her intrigue in the matter of the letters; applying this knowledge will help her begin her quest. Knowing that her father died in a war in Daresh she knows this is where she must begin.

Her brother, Simon (Maxim Gaudette Polytechnique), isn't as keen to venture further, shying away from the slow reveal of his hidden heritage. He decides that he wants nothing to do with the obscure task laid before him. But Jeanne cannot ignore her desire to discover more, her problem-solving side playing with her curiosity. Yet, as her journey begins it's a problem that starts to torment her, feeding her deeper into unknown territory both in location and spiritually.

Then, we flashback to the younger years of Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabel, Coriolanus, Paradise Now). She lives a quiet country life in a Palestinian-like state, yet has shamed her family by falling pregnant with her lover's child. Her grandma says that she must leave once she has birthed and stay with her uncle in the nearby town; to learn to read, to study hard, to make a better life for herself. This she must promise to her grandma, who takes her baby away, but eventually she takes an alternate path to the one she vowed to stick to. Not allowing religion to cloud her judgement, despite her past, she involves herself in what she deems more important.

But Nawal's troubled past may have impacted on her future way of being, and there's no disputing that whatever mysterious acts she undertook it has also affected her children deeply somehow. But, for Jeanne and Simon to put their mind at rest they must fully understand the cruel truth of their heritage.

Should a promise be broken if the cause is just...if it's bigger than you?

Winning many awards and garnering an Oscar nomination, this Canadian produced masterpiece ties you in right at the start, through the opening shot of a young boy getting his head shaved to a Radiohead song. 

It's such a moody juxtaposition, highlighting the depraved accosting of impressionable children as toys for war, injected with more peculiarity with the decor of Thom Yorke's voice. There are only two songs from Radiohead in this picture, yet both coat the piece with the right balance of harrowing realism and melancholy to mirror the story's vibe. This key theme in the first scene is a note that resonates the purity, emotional depth and despair felt across generations.

There is little music throughout the rest of the film, letting the images create a visual score for you. Mainly set in a fictional location in the Middle East, based on the Lebanese War, cinematographer André Turpin incredible eye for detail encapsulates this world through subtle capture of the nearby landscapes, while still leaving room to demonstrate the bleak array of destruction laid before our eyes. By taking interesting angles at all times, it's so visually appetising. It has an art house air too, with slow pans and zooms, crisply filmed images and locked-off lengthy shots to give the actors plenty of room to perform comfortably and with confidence. The camera work is so immediate, drawing you directly into the story, placing you right in the middle of the trauma and mystery, and adding an element of authenticity.

This credibility is aided by director Denis Villeneuve's choice to mix non-professional actors (some of which being locals) with his cast. Some of these performers had even experienced similar events of terror befallen to their characters, knowledge of which will only imbue you with an even more sensitive approach to the material. The raw emotion that thrives amongst this piece though is portrayed by our leads with such delicate regard that there isn't a bad actor amongst them. They're all tremendous, holding back their simmering emotions until core moments, especially with Lubna Azabel as Nawal Marwan. Her story is so moving and tragic, and it's an incredibly difficult role to master, but her strength and resolve as a performer, aping that of her character, centres the persona of Nawal, pinning the swirling storyline gradually as each piece of the puzzle slowly fits into it's rightful place.

And it's this take that extends the brilliance of Incendies as a mystery. There's no ignoring the merciless execution of the story by Denis Villeneuve. Through it's many chapters, jumping back and forth in time, it has an interesting chronological structure, which allows for the slow reveals in the story's twists and secrets. And, it's an adventure for all three of our key leads: one one side the disclosure of a past not lived by themselves, on the other the life stolen from the mother in the first place. More directly however, it emphasises the journeys for both the mother and daughter - mirrored by their physical locations but with crossing different paths of discovery. Nawal is losing herself and Jeanne finding herself, and the actions of the mother impact directly on the daughter.

Through these parallels between our leads, we explore some deep thematics. The twins journey helps to explore their mother's suppressed hatred. There's a coarse relevance of women struggling in a world where men still oppress with severity, tapping into Nawal's anger but not without illustrating how it's wrong to fuel such aggression; instead to release it through hope. And, through the twins' realisation of this fact, they begin finding solace in appreciating what was lost for the parent.

Intuition and determination are also key to the tale. With exposing how people deal with revelatory news in different ways, it peers into the minds of those who are driven, without the briefest chance to relent, and what it takes for those without a sense of conviction to the find the strength to peer into the dark and bear the truth. 

It's fair to say that this film is not for the weak of stomach. Not to say this is a violent film as such, but that it tears at the walls of denial and comfort we coat ourselves in, revealing our inner fears to the eventuality of death and loss. It pulls no punches when presenting you the horrendous occurrences experienced by victims within a political struggle. There are some shocking, heart-wrenching moments that will both move and startle you, striking hard in their brutal approach. Be prepared for this, but also be aware that this premise is key to this film's success, highlighting barbaric characteristics in a tale of humanity's courage and defense against all odds. Yet, amidst the terror and remorselessness there's still beauty in this film, where strength can be found in the most stark and horrific circumstances...especially in moments of discovery and wonder.

Since the release of Incendies, the play it was based on has continued to be successful all around the world (sometimes English-titled Scorched). It's breathtaking in more ways than one and the final reveal is such a big shock it will cut you to your core. It's an astounding story, beautifully written and patiently realised through visual mastery, delicate performances and a touching, if relentless method in which it taps into your soul.

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