By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Denis Velleneuve
Starring: Abdelghafour Elaaziz | Lubna Azabal | Maxim Gaudette | Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin | Rémy Girard
Country: canada, france
Year: 2011
Running time: 130
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255953/
Diane says: “Did the director mean this to be political commentary, or was that just me? Recently orphaned twins leave Quebec to find family they didn’t know about in an unnamed (fictitious) Middle Eastern country. INCENDIES ultimately is a pretty good detective story with a twist ending, but that’s the best of it. 3 cats”
Toni says: “I thought it was excellent and melodramatic enough to suit my taste but there is one small detail that is pretty important related to ages/numbers in the film that really does not add up. I highly recommend seeing the film so that you see what I mean.
“It is a very sad story with layers of characters and clues, including the woman that played the mother, and supporting actor, Remy Girard as the notary, who needs to follow a promise through, 4 1/2 cats (could be more but the numbers issue is critical to the plot at the end).”
Brett says: “This is a plot best suited for a novel. The music–as has been already discussed–is a high point, and the visual motif of the tattoo is an effective plot device in film, but these two items would not hinder the plot’s better success as a novel (especially since the latter could be adapted into book narration rather easily). The film suffered from being too contrived in the given timeframe to conduct the story. To its credit, however, the film packs more of a punch than its melodramatics and contrived plot elements should have allowed, and that is a testament to Villeneuve and his vision for the film.”