Incendies

Based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, Incendies follows twin siblings Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) as they’re forced to delve into their family’s mysterious past after their mother passes away – with the film subsequently detailing Jeanne’s ongoing efforts at uncovering the truth. (The movie also boasts a series of flashbacks revolving around the wartime exploits of Jeanne and Simon’s mother.) There’s little doubt that Incendies does demand a great deal of patience from the viewer, as director Denis Villeneuve has infused the movie’s opening half hour with a deliberately paced sensibility that’s exacerbated by a lack of clear context and exposition (ie one’s attempts at figuring out just what’s going on or what’s at stake for the characters tend to fall flat at the movie’s outset). It’s only as Incendies crosses into its engaging midsection – triggered by an absolutely riveting sequence aboard a bus – that the film begins to morph into an unexpectedly engrossing drama, with the slow-but-steady emphasis on revelatory instances of exposition ratcheting up the viewer’s interest on a progressively consistent basis. And although the film seems to hit its emotional peak with about half an hour left to go, Incendies concludes with a last-minute twist that effectively compensates for its slightly overlong running time – which, in the final analysis, cements the film’s place as a compelling and downright powerful piece of work from one of Canada’s most promising up and coming directors.

***1/2 out of ****