Incendies (2010)
The Canadian drama film, Incendies (2010), was directed by Denis Villeneuve and co-written by Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. After their mother Nawal’s passing, Jeanne and her twin brother Simon seek the guidance of Jean Lebel, a French Canadian notary who was close to their family. In her will, Nawal mentions a broken promise that has resulted in her not receiving a proper burial unless Jeanne and Simon locate their previously unknown brother and supposedly deceased father. Two letters are left behind for them: one for their father and one for their brother. While Jeanne agrees to take on this task, Simon hesitates due to his strained relationship with his mother and her unconventional ways.
Through a series of flashbacks, we discover that Nawal belonged to a Christian Arab family from an unnamed Levantine country. She fell in love with Wahab, a refugee, and became pregnant. Tragically, her family murdered her lover and almost killed her in the name of ‘honor’. Fortunately, Nawal’s grandmother intervened and spared her life. She then made Nawal promise to start anew in the fictional city of Daresh after giving birth. The newborn was marked with a tattoo on his heel by his grandmother before being sent to an orphanage. As Nawal pursued higher education in Daresh, she found herself in the midst of a civil war and atrocities against human rights. Standing against the war, Nawal’s son’s orphanage was destroyed by Chamseddine, a Muslim militant who forced him into becoming an Islamic child soldier.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Lubna AzabalNawal Marwan  Mélissa Désormeaux-PoulinJeanne Marwan  Maxim GaudetteSimon Marwan  Rémy GirardNotaire Jean Lebel  Abdelghafour ElaazizAbou Tarek |
The Canadian drama film, Incendies (2010), was directed by Denis Villeneuve and co-written by Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. After their mother Nawal’s passing, Jeanne and her twin brother Simon seek the guidance of Jean Lebel, a French Canadian notary who was close to their family. In her will, Nawal mentions a broken promise that has resulted in her not receiving a proper burial unless Jeanne and Simon locate their previously unknown brother and supposedly deceased father. Two letters are left behind for them: one for their father and one for their brother. While Jeanne agrees to take on this task, Simon hesitates due to his strained relationship with his mother and her unconventional ways.
Through a series of flashbacks, we discover that Nawal belonged to a Christian Arab family from an unnamed Levantine country. She fell in love with Wahab, a refugee, and became pregnant. Tragically, her family murdered her lover and almost killed her in the name of ‘honor’. Fortunately, Nawal’s grandmother intervened and spared her life. She then made Nawal promise to start anew in the fictional city of Daresh after giving birth. The newborn was marked with a tattoo on his heel by his grandmother before being sent to an orphanage. As Nawal pursued higher education in Daresh, she found herself in the midst of a civil war and atrocities against human rights. Standing against the war, Nawal’s son’s orphanage was destroyed by Chamseddine, a Muslim militant who forced him into becoming an Islamic child soldier.
