Incendies
Encyclopedia
Incendies is a 2010 Quebec film written and directed by Denis Villeneuve
. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad
's play, Scorched
, Incendies follows the journey of twin brother and sister as they attempt to unravel the mystery of their mother's life. The film premiered at the Venice
and Toronto Film Festivals in September 2010 and was released in Quebec
on 17 September 2010. In 2011, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
The film won eight awards at the 31st Genie Awards
, including Best Motion Picture
, Best Actress
(Lubna Azabal
), Best Director
, Best Adapted Screenplay
, Cinematography
, Editing
, Overall Sound
and Sound Editing
.
The movie contains a series of Flashback (narrative)
to the mother's life (Nawal Marwan). Nawal, a Middle-Eastern Christian gets pregnant from a refuge (likely a Palestine refugee in Lebanon). Nawal's infuriated brothers kill her lover as they try to escape. She reveals to her grandmother that she is pregnant. They keep the pregnancy secret in order to save face, and they give the baby boy away upon its birth. After which Nawal goes off to study in Daresh (a fictional city) during which a Civil War brakes out. Under threat of war, Nawal returns to find her lost son. War
has preceded her arrival as she discovers her son's orphanage has been destroyed. She then pretends to be a Muslim to board a bus with other Muslims fleeing to get to the camp where her son has been moved to.
On the way to the camp her bus is attacked by armed Christians. She and a Muslim woman and her daughter survive, only to have the bus covered in gas to be burnt. Nawal escapes by showing her cross. They would not spare the woman, so Nawal claims the other woman's daughter as her own. However, the daughter runs back to the bus and is shot. Disillusioned, Nawal joins a radical organization. She is planted as a French tutor for a prominent Christian leader and assassinates him. She is sent to prison, where she becomes known as the woman who sings. Before her release after 13 years in prison, she is raped by the executioner Abu Tareq. She becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins
in the jail. A nurse secretly saves the babies and returns them to Nawal after her release. They immigrate to Canada
.
After her death many years later, Nawal leaves a will requesting that her children, Simon and Jeanne, find their father and lost brother. Simon refuses, but Jeanne continues on her own, following in her mother's footsteps. She finds her extended family, who refuse to speak to her because of the shame her mother brought on the family. She then finds the prison and learns from a former employee that her mother was raped and gave birth in prison. He gave her the name of the nurse who birthed the babies. Distraught, she calls Simon to join her. He comes with their mother's former employer from Canada. They find the nurse, who gives them the name of the warlord that their mother worked for prior to her arrest. Simon learns that their half-brother had been taken in by the same warlord, turned into a soldier, and eventually became an executioner at the prison where their mother was held. He was known as Abu Tareq.
Having discovered that their father is their half-brother, they discover that he had moved to Canada. They find him, and deliver the letters from the mother. We learn that after many years, while swimming in a pool
, Nawal spots a man with the same distinctive birthmark
as her lost son. She approaches him, only to recognize him as her rapist, Abu Tareq. Shocked by the discovery, she suffers from a stroke and dies shortly after.
From the names (Christian) and the fact that Nawal's lover is "from the camps," the Marwan family are likely Christian Lebanese (further, Maronite, since Nawal's uncle's name is "Charbel
"), while her lover is Palestinian. However, Nawal's accent, as well as her family's and most of the actors, is not Lebanese.
Others
. The film was shot in Montreal
and Amman
.
Producers:
Co-producers
Associate producers
reports 92% positive reviews with an average score of 7.9/10.
in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. It made the shortlist on 19 January 2011, one of nine films and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
on 25 January 2011.
Both Roger Ebert
and Richard Roeper
picked the film as their favorites to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. However, it lost to In a Better World
from Denmark.
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve is a Canadian film director and writer. In his early career he won Radio-Canada's youth film competition "La Course Europe-Asie" in 1990-91. He is a three-time winner of the Genie Award for Best Director, for Maelström in 2001, Polytechnique in 2010 and Incendies in 2011...
. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad
Wajdi Mouawad
Wajdi Mouawad, OC is a Canadian writer, actor and director born in Lebanon in 1968. After living in France for a short time, he moved to Quebec in 1983.- Biography :He obtained his diploma from the National Theatre School of Canada in 1991....
's play, Scorched
Scorched (play)
Scorched is an English-language version of a 2005 play by Wajdi Mouawad . The play was translated into English by Linda Gaboriau.-Plot:...
, Incendies follows the journey of twin brother and sister as they attempt to unravel the mystery of their mother's life. The film premiered at the Venice
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
and Toronto Film Festivals in September 2010 and was released in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
on 17 September 2010. In 2011, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
The film won eight awards at the 31st Genie Awards
31st Genie Awards
The 31st Genie Awards ceremony was held on March 10, 2011 to honour films released in 2010. Nominations were announced on February 2, 2011.William Shatner was announced as the ceremony's host on February 16.-Motion Picture:*Incendies*10½...
, including Best Motion Picture
Genie Award for Best Motion Picture
The Genie Award for Best Motion Picture is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian motion picture.-1st Genie Awards:*The Changeling *Cordélia...
, Best Actress
Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
The Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian actress.-1st Genie Awards:* Kate Lynch, Meatballs* Louise Portal, Cordélia...
(Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal is a Belgian actress, born in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother. After studing at the Conservatoire royal of Brussels, she began a theatrical career in Belgium. In 1997, she took her first film role when Belgian film-maker Vincent Lannoo chose her to act beside Olivier...
), Best Director
Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction
The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Direction is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film director.-1st Genie Awards:*Bob Clark, Murder by Decree*Peter Carter, Klondike Fever...
, Best Adapted Screenplay
Genie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Genie Award for Best Screenplay is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian screenplay.The award's presentation has not always been consistent — in some years, a single award for Best Screenplay has been presented, while in other years separate awards have...
, Cinematography
Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography
The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film cinematography.-16th Genie Awards:* Thomas Burstyn, Magic in the Water* Alain Dostie, Le Confessional...
, Editing
Genie Award for Best Achievement in Editing
The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Editing is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film editor.-1st Genie Awards:* Stan Cole, Murder By Decree* Jean Beaudin, Cordelia* Ron Wisman, Fish Hawk...
, Overall Sound
Genie Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound
The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Overall Sound is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian sound designer.-1st Genie Awards:* Karl Scherer, Austin Grimaldi, Dino Pigat, Joe Grimaldi, The Changeling...
and Sound Editing
Genie Award for Best Achievement in Sound Editing
The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Sound Editing is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian sound editor.-16th Genie Awards:...
.
Plot
After suffering from a stroke at a community swimming pool twin brother and sister receive final requests in their immigrant mother's will. To fulfill these wishes, they must journey to her birth land in an unnamed Middle-Eastern country (likely based, at least partly, on Lebanon).The movie contains a series of Flashback (narrative)
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to the mother's life (Nawal Marwan). Nawal, a Middle-Eastern Christian gets pregnant from a refuge (likely a Palestine refugee in Lebanon). Nawal's infuriated brothers kill her lover as they try to escape. She reveals to her grandmother that she is pregnant. They keep the pregnancy secret in order to save face, and they give the baby boy away upon its birth. After which Nawal goes off to study in Daresh (a fictional city) during which a Civil War brakes out. Under threat of war, Nawal returns to find her lost son. War
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
has preceded her arrival as she discovers her son's orphanage has been destroyed. She then pretends to be a Muslim to board a bus with other Muslims fleeing to get to the camp where her son has been moved to.
On the way to the camp her bus is attacked by armed Christians. She and a Muslim woman and her daughter survive, only to have the bus covered in gas to be burnt. Nawal escapes by showing her cross. They would not spare the woman, so Nawal claims the other woman's daughter as her own. However, the daughter runs back to the bus and is shot. Disillusioned, Nawal joins a radical organization. She is planted as a French tutor for a prominent Christian leader and assassinates him. She is sent to prison, where she becomes known as the woman who sings. Before her release after 13 years in prison, she is raped by the executioner Abu Tareq. She becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
in the jail. A nurse secretly saves the babies and returns them to Nawal after her release. They immigrate to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
After her death many years later, Nawal leaves a will requesting that her children, Simon and Jeanne, find their father and lost brother. Simon refuses, but Jeanne continues on her own, following in her mother's footsteps. She finds her extended family, who refuse to speak to her because of the shame her mother brought on the family. She then finds the prison and learns from a former employee that her mother was raped and gave birth in prison. He gave her the name of the nurse who birthed the babies. Distraught, she calls Simon to join her. He comes with their mother's former employer from Canada. They find the nurse, who gives them the name of the warlord that their mother worked for prior to her arrest. Simon learns that their half-brother had been taken in by the same warlord, turned into a soldier, and eventually became an executioner at the prison where their mother was held. He was known as Abu Tareq.
Having discovered that their father is their half-brother, they discover that he had moved to Canada. They find him, and deliver the letters from the mother. We learn that after many years, while swimming in a pool
Pool
-Pools of water:*Swimming pool, an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming*Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings:...
, Nawal spots a man with the same distinctive birthmark
Birthmark
A birthmark is a benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth, usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocytes, smooth muscle, fat, fibroblasts, or...
as her lost son. She approaches him, only to recognize him as her rapist, Abu Tareq. Shocked by the discovery, she suffers from a stroke and dies shortly after.
From the names (Christian) and the fact that Nawal's lover is "from the camps," the Marwan family are likely Christian Lebanese (further, Maronite, since Nawal's uncle's name is "Charbel
Charbel
Charbel, Sharbel, or Sharbel Makhluf, , born as Youssef Antoun Makhlouf in Bekaa Kafra in northern Lebanon, was a Syriac-Maronite monk and priest, canonized saint by the Roman Catholic Church and now venerated world-wide.-His Life:...
"), while her lover is Palestinian. However, Nawal's accent, as well as her family's and most of the actors, is not Lebanese.
Cast
Main- Lubna AzabalLubna AzabalLubna Azabal is a Belgian actress, born in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother. After studing at the Conservatoire royal of Brussels, she began a theatrical career in Belgium. In 1997, she took her first film role when Belgian film-maker Vincent Lannoo chose her to act beside Olivier...
as Nawal Marwan (mother) - Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne Marwan (daughter)
- Maxim GaudetteMaxim GaudetteMaxim Gaudette is a Canadian actor from Quebec. He won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2010 for his role as Marc Lépine in the 2009 film Polytechnique.-Credits:*2009: Polytechnique*2010: Incendies...
as Simon Marwan (son) - Rémy GirardRémy GirardRémy Girard is a Canadian actor and former television host from Quebec.-Acting career:He played the role of Rémy, the main character, who is dying of terminal cancer, in the Canadian film Les Invasions barbares by director Denys Arcand. This film was awarded the 2003 Academy Award for best...
as Jean Lebel (notary)
Others
- Abdelghafour Elaaziz as Abou Tarek
- Allen Altman as Notary Maddad
- Mohamed Majd as Chamseddine
- Nabil Sawalha as Fahim
- Baya Belal as Maika
- Bader Alami as Nicolas
- Karim Babin as guard of Chamseddine's corpse
- Anthony Ecclissi as Lifeguard
- Joyce Raie as Student Journalist
- Yousef Shweihat as Sharif
- Celine Soulier as French Journalist
Production
Parts of the story were based on the life of Souha BecharaSouha Bechara
Souha Fawaz Bechara also spelled Souha Bechara or Soha Bechara is a Lebanese woman who, at the age of twenty one, attempted to assassinate General Antoine Lahad of the South Lebanon Army...
. The film was shot in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
.
Producers:
- Luc Déry
- Kim McCraw
Co-producers
- Anthony Doncque
- Milena Poylo
- Gilles Sacuto
Associate producers
- Phoebe Greenberg
- Penny Mancuso
- Ziad ToumaZiad ToumaZiad Touma is a Lebanese Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1974 and residing in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the founder of the film, television and digital media production company Couzin Films .-Earlier Years:...
Reviews
Reviews for the film have been extremely positive. Kevin N. Laforest of the Montreal Film Journal gave it 3.5 stars out of 4 and wrote, "Villeneuve has done his best work yet here." The Gazettes Brendan Kelly gave the film a rare 5 out of 5 stars and called it a "masterpiece." The review aggregation website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports 92% positive reviews with an average score of 7.9/10.
Accolades
On 22 September 2010, Incendies was chosen to represent Canada at the 83rd Academy Awards83rd Academy Awards
The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...
in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. It made the shortlist on 19 January 2011, one of nine films and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
on 25 January 2011.
Both Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
and Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
picked the film as their favorites to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. However, it lost to In a Better World
In a Better World
In a Better World is a 2010 Danish-Swedish drama thriller film written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier. The film stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in a story which takes place in small-town Denmark and a refugee camp in Africa.A Danish majority...
from Denmark.
Official selection
- 2010 Venice Film Festival
- 2010 Telluride Film Festival
- 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
- 2011 Sundance Film Festival
- 2011 New Directors/New Films
Awards
- Best Canadian Film, Toronto Film Critics' Association
- Adelaide Film FestivalAdelaide Film FestivalThe Adelaide Film Festival is a biennial and non-competitive film festival held over two weeks in late February, in Adelaide, South Australia....
: 10 awards including Best Feature Film 2011 - Genie Awards: eight awards including Best Motion Picture.
See also
- Cinema of Quebec
- List of Quebec films
- List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film