92% Incendies

All Critics (106) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (97) | Rotten (8)

It's a powerful, disturbing film. May there be a day when such works seem less relevant.

Rage has no expiration date in Incendies, director Denis Villeneuve's gripping, era-jumping drama about a family melded to its war-torn past.

It is no surprise that it was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

"Incendies" is occasionally compelling, but also overlong and vexing in the ways it draws out a "shocking" conclusion that we unravel long before the characters do.

If you think of Canadian films as the movie equivalent of cucumber sandwiches and chamomile tea, hold tight.

A mystery, a melodrama, a prison film, and a love story, "Incendies'' is foremost a scream of rage at a society destroyed by religion and by men.

Normally I'm against decent original stories being dumbed down and squashed into bog-standard thriller shapes. But Incendies is in dire need of some dumbing down.

Of the four 2010 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominees that I've seen, Canada's Incendies ranks as the only one remotely worthy of the prize.

It isn't easy to open out a well-respected stage play without losing a lot of its bite and subtlety.

Absorbing throughout, Incendies has the feel of a Greek tragedy until a conclusion that stretches credibility to breaking point.

The movie never feels long, partly because of Azabal's terrific performance.

It is not really believable, and yet if it is not taken literally, but as a cinematic prose-poem, it has undoubted force.

Incendies is in essence a family drama, astonishingly intense but impressively poised.

Elemental and expertly directed, Nawal's story haunts long after the credits have rolled.

A wholly cinematic drama that combines twists and suspense with harrowing political insight.

No-one's idea of an easy watch, but Incendies is an essential one, announcing Villeneuve as a major filmmaking talent and Azabal as an actress of remarkable versatility.

A strong film based on a weak story.

Expertly shifting between present and past , writer-director Denis Villeneuve displays an impressive command of his material, patiently building up to an emotionally explosive climax.

As the horrors become clear, as rape and torture and death draw us deeper into the abyss, Incendies hopes to help us see clearly. It doesn't always succeed.

The most intense film I've seen all year. It's also one of the most compelling -- and, in its own way, one of the most entertaining.

"Childhood is a knife stuck in your throat," a dead woman's will informs her twin children. "It can't be easily removed." The siblings will discover that knife is double-edged on an odyssey to discover their roots.

Incendies is a grueling, harrowing trek in search of identity. It is more an emotional experience than an intellectual exercise, more the heart than the head.

The movie plays out like a page-turning novel that you can't put down. There are a number of shocking revelations that take you completely by surprise. The acting is outstanding, especially the...

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/incendies/

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