Product Description In the highly-acclaimed suspense thriller Incendies, a mother's dying wish creates a painful puzzle her children are forced to solve. At the reading of their mother's will, twins Jeanne and Simon are given instructions to locate the father they believed was dead and the brother neither knew existed. They travel to the Middle East, to piece together the story of the woman who brought them into the world only to make a shocking discovery. .com This hauntingly enigmatic Canadian film and 2010 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee unfolds backward and forward in time as a riveting, intricate mystery story. Clues are doled out gradually and often without the benefit of reason until shocking answers are unearthed in the final minutes. Set primarily in an unnamed Middle East country that is probably Lebanon, events are told in flashbacks and present-day scenes that run together without comment or overt transitions, employing a formal structure that requires us to pay constant attention to the shifts in perspective. It's a challenging task, but one that becomes enormously engrossing as the narrative weaves around itself against the backdrop of a bloody civil war and the equally damaging emotional battle of a family that is bound to a past ruled by equal parts devotion and horror. The primary characters are Nawal Marwan and her twin children Jeanne and Simon. A framing device set in Montreal where the grown twins hear a reading of their recently deceased mother's will sets up a quest that must be resolved before her body can be put to rest. They are each given sealed letters by the avuncular notary who was both their mother's employer and family friend (he also becomes pretty important to the extended plot, as do a number of other seemingly minor characters). As her last request, the mother has instructed Jeanne to deliver one letter to their father and Simon to deliver the other to their brother. Even though the twins believed their unknown father to be long dead and were unaware of the existence of a brother, Nawal's will assures them that both men are very much alive. With nothing more than the family name and a vague history of Nawal's early life in the strife-torn country where fighting between Christians and Muslims wrought a years-long bloodbath, both children get a crack at solving the mystery. The trails they follow each in their own turn are intercut with episodes from the young Nawal's journey of heartbreak, tension, and terror decades earlier. The children uncover incremental details in the same resolutely objective fashion that director Denis Villeneuve reels out others through the experiences of Nawal as she lived through her own ordeal. The script by Villeneuve was based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, and there is a deeply resonant literary quality to the narrative that gives what might have otherwise seemed like an unlikely series of coincidences a profound sense of plausibility. An ultimate and entirely legitimate sense of destiny is revealed to all the characters that pass through the story, even in the most tangential way. The truths revealed by the surprise ending are truly devastating and completely unexpected, especially to those for whom the reality they thought they knew has been upended in ways that are unimaginable. --Ted Fry
C**S
Important all around: Actually inspired by a rich history as well
π°'π ππ πππ'π πππππππ.π° ππππ πππ ππππ ππππ.π°πππππ πππ ( is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with ValΓ©rie Beaugrand-Champagne.Nawal, a dying Middle Eastern woman living in Montreal, leaves separate letters to her twin children to be read once she passes away. Jeanne is to deliver hers to the father the twins never knew, and Simon is to give his to the brother they never knew they had. The siblings travel to the Middle East separately, where they each experience acts of brutality, uncover a startling family history, and have revelations about themselvesAs is the case with every good and emotionally involving story, π°πππππ πππ on its own has a rather complicated origin story.In 1988, a woman by the name of Souha Bechara would solidify her place in history as an indisputable symbol of rebellion. Raised in a household dominated by dual identities - Eastern Orthodox and the Lebanese Communist Party - Bechara secretly joined this communist organization in 1982: This being the year in which Israel invaded Lebanon and would be known as the true beginning of the Lebanon Civil War.In 1986, Bechara left college and started joining in on resistance activities taking place in Lebanon, and it wouldn't take long for her to receive her first major task: assassinating General Antoine Lahad, the person designated as the head of a militia funded by Israel.After introducing herself to Lahadβs wife under the guise of an aerobic instructor,, Bechara would spend the next two years getting familiar with Lahadβs family dynamic. On November 17th, 1988 Bechara turned an invitation for tea into the moment she had been waiting for; in the process of getting ready to leave, Lahad was shot twice in both the chest and shoulder. Lehad was able to live through this attempt on his life, and Bechara was quickly apprehended: forced to spend the next ten years imprisoned at the infamous Khiam death camp and subjected to a life of social (or emotional) exile following her release.In 2003 Wajdi Mouawad - a playwright whose family relocated when he was 8 because of this aforementioned war - heard about Becharβs story, and used it as inspiration to write a play of his own: and, thus, π°πππππ πππ was conceived.In 2004 Villeneuve saw this play for the first time, and he made the simplest observation: that Mouawadβs creation is an objectively brilliant one.Without a personal connection to the larger context of π°πππππ πππβs subject matter, Villeneuve incorporated storytelling techniques that are perhaps predatorily cliche. His largest sin is in endorsing βus versusβ them thinking: illustrating the primary conflict as being between Christians and Muslims as opposed to a more nuanced understanding of π°πππππ πππ and the point in history it is originally intended to be referencing (though not explicitly) throughout.To combat this assertion, Villeneuve chose to make π°πππππ πππ largely rooted in fiction, and this is inferred in the decision to identify the locations move throughout as places most viewers ( mostly Western viewers, to Be specific) are likely to be completely unfamiliar with and other pieces (Like Radioheadβs music) sprinkled around intermittently.On one hand, perhaps it is inappropriate to make such decisions: to utilize historically significant events (like the bus Massacre scene, as it could be a subtle call out to the Beirut bus Massacre 1975) as a sort-of shortcut to π°πππππ πππβs disastrous climax.Say what you will, but I'm still ready to forgive Villeneuveβs narrative choices in this case. It's all too obvious that π°πππππ πππ is theoretically moved along by exposition that has its rightful place on screen, but this would arguably distract from the primary points of contention: the strained relationship between Jeanne and Simon, and efforts made by their mother to reconcile with her own past.If Villeneuve has anything, it's unequivocally this: the desire to handle fragile contents with unwavering sensitivity. Shooting in both Montreal and Jordan, the set design and AndrΓ© Turpinβs camera work combine in ways that are shocking, like an impassioned battering ram or bouquet. At the same time, these combine and pay respect to viewers that can't help but take what happens in this film personally. While filming in Jordan, Villeneuve recruited people local to the area for assistance on set, and accepted feedback about potentially triggering or possibly offensive motifs. Going further, he worked five years on the screenwriting for π°πππππ πππ alone, and he only decided on following this project through after consulting Mouawad and being given his official stamp of approval.We don't see the same disconnect when considering the fact that π°πππππ πππ is shortly predicated by the creation and release of π·ππππππππππππ: a film designed to dramatize the Γcole Polytechnique massacre of 1989.And, yeah. Maybe the reasons I can come up with for Villeneuve having an intuitive connection to the subject matter of π·ππππππππππππ are mere figments of my imagination. With him being from Canada and also being around the same age of the people killed in this event, I can understand his tendency to project: to try very hard at showing empathy for tragedies that feel all too close to our own homes. Who is to say that the Polytechnique massacre didnβt have a significantly emotional effect on Villeneuve the day it occurred? Who is to assume that despite happening almost 30 years ago that it doesn't follow him around like a shadow: consistently threatening his own sense of security to this day.And again: π° ππππ.Given the facts I'm still guilty of doing what I do best: guilty of giving Villeneuve too much credit. Guilty of cutting him slack That Others May think he doesn't deserve.Regardless, I find myself noticing how flawlessly π°πππππ πππ uses juxtaposed elements as a means in which its characters can make sense of what is safe or perilous in this world. How anger and kindness can exist in equally tongue-tied amounts.The singing.The screaming.How the roles of father and son can influence both the declaration of a vendetta and some genuine peace of mind.If you aren't convinced that this story is about subverting extremities while simultaneously embracing them we need look no further than the title of it. π°πππππ πππ, loosely translated to fires, represents a force with different connotations depending on the situation in which is being experienced.Fire has the power to destroy. It regularly wrecks havoc on people's lives and destabilizes entire ecosystems.Nonetheless, when controlled, fire is welcomed. We welcome it as an item that represents warmth. We welcome it as a tool that can be used in conjunction with various skills as a way of managing our own existences.And perhaps, more importantly, it blurs a line: a line that can be the difference between a cold, unenlightened death, and an opportunity for survival.
R**D
"Forget it, Jake, it's Lebanon."
Their mother always had a secret, one that she couldn't bear to tell them while she lived (she only taking on board the full story after a chance encounter with old acquaintance), a story so horrifically bizarre they wouldn't believe it, and wouldn't want to believe it. So the Marwan twins, he and she, have to find out for themselves, in the form of letters they are instructed to deliver, as their mother's dying wish, to the father long presumed dead, and the (half) brother they never knew they had. The search for this lost family begins in mom's hometown, a village in southern Lebanon, where the daughter's friendly interactions with villagers suddenly turn weird and finally hostile when the villagers learn whom she inquiring about. The action flips back and forth between the past of literal bombshells and the present of figurative ones. The last devastating secret, encapsulated in the awful arithmetic of one plus one making one, finds the Marwans delivering the letters not halfway around the world, but in their own backyard. The film presents a riveting and disquieting treatment of the horrors of civil war.
A**A
Dark , Despair & Hope
This movie was just suspenseful , it leaves you on your toes thru out the movie . This film really takes a deep dive in how much a person is willing to take and also go far in life . Shows us hardships , despair , relentless and so much more . This movie is in French but has English subtitles , Trigger warning it does have gore , abuse , maltreatment , violence , war and other mature contents , for those who are sensitive to loud sounds or gunfire their are scenes like this in the movie so be prepared . You will not be prepared on how this movie is going to end I will tell you that much .
C**C
Disturbing but intriguing
Well-done drama and somewhat mystery about a brother and sister going back to find their roots in Palestine. If you're not familiar with the middle east it's pretty eye-opening the kind of misery and violence they face. Definitely not for kids or teenagers with the cruelty and sexual violence especially.
C**N
Everything perfect. Thanks!
Everything perfect. Thanks!
C**K
A good film plus a great documentary.
While the film is very good, the 40 minute documentary in here about the making of the film and the themes of war that dominate parts of the Middle East is a wonderful piece. I love when films like this come packaged with fantastic extras. It really opened my eyes to some of the feeling around the area.Now the film is a bit more complex to grade properly. It's a bit of an adventure, with both secrets and political ideas to promulgate its themes of anger and love. I do think parts of the film are a bit illogical in how they are presented, but the overall content is well shot, produced, and acted. Villeneuve and crew are as professional as ever. If anything the film will open your mind a bit about the particular problems it presents that are much more serious in reality.Of course the film itself can only handle so much, and it doesn't really build a case for a side to take nor does it involve itself enough to be taken too seriously. Rather it presents a certain scenario and tells a story of a woman and her travails during wartime. Some of it comes off as fantastical in a sense that might be hard to believe, but the ultimate truths the film glosses over seem at least foundational to its existence. In other words we get a good look at how one might actually perceive these diverse cultures outside of the politically correct and whitewashed media.So it's not the greatest film about war, but it does have some great scenes, acting, and locations. The documentary is thought provoking and well worth the purchase alone probably. It's informative to see how a film is created over in Jordan, and it's the same when listening and learning a bit about the Middle East.Altogether, another must have from this director and crew.
E**A
Movie.
Very good movie with a weird twist. I am good at know how a movie will go but I could not guess this ending great movie!!
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