Incendies

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Incendies

R

2011

2h 10m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

122 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Nawal (Lubna Azabal), a dying Middle Eastern woman living in Montreal, leaves separate letters to her twin children to be read once she passes away. Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) is to deliver hers to the father the twins never knew, and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) is to give his to the brother they never knew they had. The siblings travel to the Middle East separately, where they each experience acts of brutality, uncover a startling family history, and have revelations about themselves.

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Critics Consensus

It's messy, overlong, and a touch melodramatic, but those flaws pale before Incendies' impressive acting and devastating emotional impact.

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Roger Clarke

Sight & Sound

Jun 28, 2011

Incendies acquires its heft from some very deep places -- Greek tragedy rather than newsflashes.

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Robbie Collin

News of the World

Jun 25, 2011

2/5

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.

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Jun 24, 2011

4/5

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

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Aug 12, 2024

5/5

…this might not be his best known work, but Incendies is probably Villeneuve's best film to date; if you’re willing to witness the aftermath of unspeakable events, it’s a particularly potent exploration of the twisted morality of a terrorist act…

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Ray Pride

Newcity

Jul 4, 2024

10/10

The steely elegance of Villeneuve’s emphatic camera movements and framing are as much of the “story” as the terrors past unearthed by two grown, yet innocent children.

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Rohan Naahar

The Indian Express

Mar 9, 2024

Before he was surfing the sand dunes of Arakkis, Denis Villeneuve was telling a more searing story about overzealous characters waging a holy war in the desert.

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Ethan M

@Etmontoya7 Nov 6, 2026

Literally Jaw dropping experience. Can be difficult to watch at times, but overall one of the best movie experiences I’ve had in a long time

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Yazan S

@RT64028852 Sep 29, 2026

wow, i hate yousef so much right now

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Marco L

@decatur555 Sep 27, 2026

Denis Villeneuve turns a family search into something far more devastating: a story about war, identity, fanaticism and the violence one generation leaves to the next. What impressed me most is the restraint. Incendies rarely needs melodramatic tricks because the gradual reconstruction of the past is already overwhelming enough. Lubna Azabal is extraordinary, carrying enormous pain without reducing the character to suffering, while Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin gives the investigation its emotional pulse. The structure moves between past and present with remarkable control, allowing each new piece of information to deepen what came before without relying on cheap shock. It is a very hard film, but not a manipulative one. Villeneuve understands that some truths are devastating precisely because they are revealed quietly. Bleak, intelligent and emotionally crushing, yet ultimately concerned with whether inherited hatred can ever be stopped.

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Gabriel F

@RT92562146 Sep 20, 2026

I barely have words to describe this movie. It's raw, emotional, sad and mind bending. It's one of Denis best films without a doubt.

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David C

@David617 Sep 17, 2026

Incendies (2010), dirigida por Denis Villeneuve, es una película dramática muy fuerte y emocionante que cuenta la historia de dos hermanos que, después de la muerte de su madre, descubren secretos familiares que los llevan a investigar el pasado de su familia en un país afectado por la guerra.

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Adam B

@RT55394047 Sep 15, 2026

There is literally no other movie like this.

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Denis Villeneuve

Director

Lubna Azabal

Nawal Marwan

Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin

Jeanne Marwan

Maxim Gaudette

Simon Marwan

Rémy Girard

Notaire Jean Lebel

Abdelghafour Elaaziz

Abou Tarek

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Synopsis

Nawal (Lubna Azabal), a dying Middle Eastern woman living in Montreal, leaves separate letters to her twin children to be read once she passes away. Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) is to deliver hers to the father the twins never knew, and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) is to give his to the brother they never knew they had. The siblings travel to the Middle East separately, where they each experience acts of brutality, uncover a startling family history, and have revelations about themselves.

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Producer: Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Screenwriter: Denis Villeneuve, Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, Wajdi Mouawad
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: TS Productions, micro_scope, Phi Group
Rating: R (Strong Violence|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 10, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9M
Runtime: 2h 10m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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