Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Beulah Bram A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

TobinTelleran This is a beautiful film. The direction is perfect; the score poignant and edgy at times when it needs to be. The cast all gave the performances of their careers. The cinematography is second to none with the shots beautifully done to draw you into this, at times, horrific story.But it is the story that makes this film superb. All of the characters are real. You feel with them through all of the beats and the dialogue is really well thought out. This is especially true with all the use of dramatic irony through the use of multiple languages.A must watch but not for the faint hearted.

cemredemir I do not want to talk about the movie's technical issues. It is apparent that it has some technical issues. But from the story of view, it is just heart hitting. After watching the movie, you feel like something big like a rock is sitting on your heart inside. It clearly makes you feel how is it like to be a middle eastern.Worth to watch even only for this part.----spoiler----Is 1+1 = 2, is 1+1=1? -----spoiler----

TheLittleSongbird The main attraction into seeing 'Incendies' was that it was directed by Denis Villeneuve, having loved 'Sicario' and really liked 'Prisoners' (apart from the ending). Reviews for both films recommended 'Incendies' highly and with people calling it one of Villeneuve's best, so seeing the film was definitely on the cards.Seeing it, 'Incendies' turned out to be every bit the great film as touted. Although more needs to be seen from Villeneuve, 'Incendies' to me does contain some of his best work seen thus far and my second favourite after 'Sicario'. It is a tough watch, often incredibly hard-hitting, and will have things that people will love and others won't (some will, and have done, find it contrived and melodramatic), but again to me 'Incendies' was so exceptionally well made all round with such a strong emotional impact throughout that although it is not perfect it was hard not to be hard on it.'Incendies's' weak point is the ending, it is certainly unexpected and has some power but also seemed rather contrived and like it went on far with the number of coincidences, almost as credibility-straining as the ending of 'Prisoners' if not quite.However, 'Incendies' is superbly made visually, especially in the stylish and brooding cinematography, with deft use of close-ups and long shots, that captures the horrors of the story wonderfully, even if Roger Deakins did it just a little bit better. The scenery is similarly audacious while also highly atmospheric. The music is suitably haunting, with great use of Radiohead's "You and Whose Army".Villeneuve's direction is some of his career's best, he specialised in giving his films a darkness that was beautiful and brutal but also a hard edge that didn't hold back for the better. That can be seen in 'Incendies'. While not as tight as the script in 'Sicario', the script has a lot of emotional impact and provokes thought.When it comes to the story, 'Incendies' is also hugely successful. It really hits hard without overdoing or sugar-coating things, it's very much authentic, and is also very moving. The bus massacre in particular is a highlight that shocks one to the core. The parallel split-time structure of the story is very interesting, neither story line is hard to follow and they tie up neatly at the end, while the numerous revelations and twists could have been credibility-straining and illogical if not done right but Villeneuve keeps it all under control. Anguish, confusion and regret has not in a while been seen by me so poignantly on film.Performances are strong across the board, with powerhouse turns from Lubna Azabal and Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin. The film does a particularly great job in creating sympathy for the protagonist, who is developed beautifully, one where she is easy to root for every step of the way and comes over as a compellingly real one.Overall, great film, a near-masterwork though the ending is not as good as the rest of the film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

hddu10 Loosely based on events which occurred in the Lebanese civil war of the 1970s (although the actual country is never named), Incendies takes the viewer on a very emotional and personal ride spanning decades; showing how the actions and events of an instant affect generations of people into the future; who are most likely unaware. The film brings home the horrors of war, the dynamics of family and gives insight into Arab culture...much of which is unknown to the west. Some of the view-points and events concerning the sectarian violence were very one-sided and inaccurate (hence why they did not exactly name this as taking place in Lebanon), but if you can overlook this, you will undoubtedly be rewarded with a gut-wrenching yet masterfully powerful film.