Welcome back to this mini-series of reviews of the feature films*
of revered filmmaker Denis Villeneuve in the lead-up to his latest film Arrival. This third review in the series
is for his 2010 film Incendies.
Incendies is
another challenging entry in the filmography of director Denis Villeneuve. It
follows a complicated family drama about twins who, following their mother’s
death, need to dig through a mystery surrounding a brother they didn’t know existed
whom their mother wanted them to find as per her will. I won’t get further into
the story because having gone in blind myself, I think that is a useful way to
go into this film. The film stars Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin,
Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard, and Allen Altman.
Overall I think Incendies
is another solid entry in Villenueve’s filmography even if it continues a theme
of emotionally challenging films after the draining Polytechnique. Villeneuve captures a story that is, at base, a mystery
and all the elements associated with that but that also ties to civil war in
the Middle East including a lot of horrifying and grim actions and situations
that arise out of that situation. Villeneuve shows an emotional deftness in
this film and never steps away from showing something incredibly grim to get
the point across which made this film, like his others, incredibly effective. I
also think the shot design style he has further enhanced the emotional base and
the realism in this film which made it even more effective.
One thing in terms of growth (and that you get from
reviewing all these films in a row) is a clear elevation of the artistry in the
creation of this film. Although it has a certain rawness, in comparison to Polytechnique this film feels much more
artful and less like following a real series of events. This film both looks
more cinematic and has some stunningly constructed shots. I was sitting
watching this film and was just in awe at the beauty he achieved in this film
that made it much more impactful in some ways.
I also think this film was extremely well written. This film
moves backward and forward through time really interestingly and separates
various acts in distinct parts. The mystery and the way it unfolds is also
really clever and made this all the more effective. It also managed to do this
being written fully in French and Arabic maintaining a truthfulness to the
characters and their geography that made this all the more authentic.
I didn’t find Incendies
to be a perfect film, however. For one thing, the complexity of this mystery
and the situation made it really hard to relate to and fully connect to the
emotional stakes of the story. In some sense you certainly do on a human level
but it was hard to get the level of investment that better films manage to
achieve. I also thought that the performances, though largely solid, didn’t
stick out as particularly strong. Villeneuve’s work enhances them all, but none
stood out powerfully enough for me to get the gravity of this film.
Overall, I think Incendies
is a very solid film with great art and authenticity that make it an effective
film. It is a mystery that flows intriguingly from start to finish and kept me
enthralled throughout. I didn’t find myself completely knocked off my feet by
this film as my inability to fully relate to the emotion of the situation and
the standard level of the performances caused it to not connect with me on a
deeper level. Definitely worth a watch though and it could well work
differently on you.
Ryan’s Score: 8.5/10
* This series of reviews will include all of Villeneuve’s features except the 2000 film Malestrom due to it being highly difficult to obtain prior to the start of this series.
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