Incendies

Following the death of their mother, Nawal, an Arab immigrant in Canada, Jeanne and her twin brother Simon meet with French Canadian notary Jean Lebel, their mother's employer and family friend. Nawal's will refers to not keeping a promise, denying her a proper gravestone and casket, unless Jeanne and Simon track down their mysterious brother, whose existence they were previously unaware of, and their father, who they believed was dead. Nawal has left two letters; one is to be delivered to Jeanne and Simon's father, and the other is to be delivered to their brother. Jeanne accepts; Simon, on the other hand, seemingly having had a more difficult relationship with Nawal and her unusual personality, is reluctant to join Jeanne on this pursuit.

A series of flashbacks reveal Nawal came from a Christian Arab family in a Levantine country, and that she fell in love with a refugee named Wahab, resulting in her pregnancy. Her family murders her lover and nearly shoots her in an honor killing, but her grandmother spares her, making her promise to leave the village after her baby's birth and start a new life in the city of Daresh. The grandmother tattoos the back of the baby's heel and sends him to an orphanage in Kfar Khout.

While Nawal is at university in Daresh a few years later, civil war and war crimes break out, with Nawal opposing the war on human rights grounds. Her son's orphanage is destroyed by a Muslim militant, Chamseddine, who converts her son into an Islamic child soldier. Nawal leaves Daresh to try to find her son and boards a bus full of Muslim refugees. Christian Nationalists shoot the driver and fire into the bus full of passengers, only missing Nawal and a mother with her daughter. As the Nationalists prepare to set the bus on fire, the survivors try to escape towards the back of the bus. Nawal shows her crucifix and tells the Nationalists that she is Christian. She attempts to save the girl by claiming her as her own, but the girl runs towards the burning bus, calling for her mother, and is shot dead. Nawal finds her way back to town and joins the Muslim fighters. She tutors the son of a nationalist leader, eventually earning enough trust to smuggle in a gun to shoot the leader. She is imprisoned in Kfar Ryat and sings through the screams of other prisoners, earning her the nickname "The Woman Who Sings". To attempt to break her, she is raped by torturer Abou Tarek who leaves her saying, "Sing now". She consequently gives birth to the twins.

After traveling to her mother's native country, Jeanne gradually uncovers this past and persuades Simon to join her. With help from Lebel, they learn their brother's name is Nihad of May (the month he was born in) and track down Chamseddine. Simon meets with him, and he reveals the war-mad Nihad was captured by the nationalists, turned by them, trained as a torturer, and then sent to Kfar Ryat, where he took the name Abou Tarek, making him both the twins' maternal half-brother and father; as such, both letters are addressed to the same person. Like Nawal, Nihad's superiors gave him a new life in Canada after the war. By chance, Nawal encountered him at a Canadian swimming pool and saw both the tattoo (proving him as her son) and his face (proving him as her rapist). The shock of learning the truth caused Nawal to suffer a stroke, which led to her decline and untimely death at age 60.

The twins find Nihad in Canada and deliver Nawal's letters to him. He opens both of them; the first letter addresses him as the twins' father, the rapist, and is filled with contempt. The second letter addresses him as the twins' brother and is instead written with caring words, saying that he, as Nawal's son, is deserving of love. Horrified at the truth, Nihad tries to chase after the twins, but they are gone.

Nawal gets her gravestone. Sometime later, Nihad visits it.

{{Cast listing|

• Lubna Azabal as Nawal Marwan
• Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne "Janaan" Marwan
• Maxim Gaudette as Simon "Sarwan" Marwan
• Rémy Girard as Jean Lebel
• Abdelghafour Elaaziz as Abou Tarek/Nihad "Nihad de Mai" Harmanni
• Allen Altman as Notary Maddad
• Mohamed Majd as Chamseddine
• Nabil Sawalha as Fahim
• Baya Belal as Maika
• Bader Alami as Nicolas
• Karim Babin as Chamseddine's guard
• Anthony Ecclissi as Lifeguard
• Joyce Raie as Student Journalist
• Yousef Shweihat as Sharif
• Celine Soulier as French Journalist
• Mher Karakashian as Chamseddine's assistant

}}

File:Denis Villeneuve Cannes 2015.jpg adapted Wajdi Mouawad's play Incendies after seeing it performed in Montreal in 2004.]]

Parts of the story were based on the life of Souha Bechara.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Film/Feb/02/Seeing-yourself-re-made-as-fiction.ashx#axzz1bmmQmXor |title=Seeing yourself re-made as fiction |last=Snaije |first=Olivia |date=2 February 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The Daily Star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916060318/http://dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Film/Feb/02/Seeing-yourself-re-made-as-fiction.ashx#axzz1bmmQmXor |archive-date=16 September 2013 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=http://www.lapresse.ca/international/moyen-orient/200903/08/01-834313-lex-kamikaze-soha-bechara-denonce-le-sort-des-palestiniens.php |title=L'ex-kamikaze Soha Béchara dénonce le sort des Palestiniens |last=Perreault |first=Laura-Julie |date=8 March 2009 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=La Presse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006205652/http://www.lapresse.ca/international/moyen-orient/200903/08/01-834313-lex-kamikaze-soha-bechara-denonce-le-sort-des-palestiniens.php |archive-date=6 October 2016 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.mediationsjournal.org/articles/antigone-becomes-jocasta |title=Antigone Becomes Jocasta: Soha Bechara, Résistante, and Incendies |last=Holstun |first=Jim |date=Fall 2015 |access-date=19 July 2017 |work=Mediations vol. 29, no. 1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303094320/http://www.mediationsjournal.org/articles/antigone-becomes-jocasta |archive-date=3 March 2017 |url-status=live }} The story is based on events that happened during the Lebanese Civil War of 1975 to 1990, but the filmmakers attempted to make the location of the plot ambiguous.{{cite news| first = Glenn| last = Sum| title = Denis is on Fire| publisher = Now Toronto| url = http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=178802| date = 20 January 2011| access-date = 19 September 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110813163917/http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=178802| archive-date = 13 August 2011| url-status = live}}{{cite news | url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/will-denis-villeneuves-incendies-light-a-fire-under-oscar/article1873366/page2/ | location=Toronto | work=The Globe and Mail | first=J. Kelly | last=Nestruck | title=Will Denis Villeneuve's 'Incendies' light a fire under Oscar? - The Globe and Mail | date=18 January 2011 | access-date=1 September 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402035937/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/will-denis-villeneuves-incendies-light-a-fire-under-oscar/article1873366/page2/ | archive-date=2 April 2012 | url-status=live }}

Director Denis Villeneuve first saw Wajdi Mouawad's play Incendies at Théâtre de Quat'Sous in Montreal in 2004, commenting "I had this strong intuition that I was in front of a masterpiece". Villeneuve acknowledged unfamiliarity with Arab culture, but was drawn to Incendies as "a modern story with a sort of Greek tragedy element".{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2011/02/oscars-2011-incendies-director-denis-villeneuve-243620/ |title=OSCARS 2011: 'Incendies' Director Denis Villeneuve |last=Brooks |first=Brian |date=15 February 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=IndieWire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818101352/http://www.indiewire.com/2011/02/oscars-2011-incendies-director-denis-villeneuve-243620/ |archive-date=18 August 2016 |url-status=live }} In adapting the screenplay, Villeneuve, while keeping the story structure and characters, replaced "all" the dialogue, even envisioning a silent film, abandoning the idea due to expense. He showed Mouawad some completed scenes to convince the initially reluctant playwright to grant permission for the film. Villeneuve spent five years working on the screenplay, in between directing two films.{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8581916/Incendies-Universal-tragedy-with-fire-in-its-heart.html |title=Incendies: Universal tragedy with fire in its heart |last=Gritten |first=David |date=18 June 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917024827/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8581916/Incendies-Universal-tragedy-with-fire-in-its-heart.html |archive-date=17 September 2016 |url-status=live }} Mouawad later praised the film as "brilliantly elegant" and gave Villeneuve full credit.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2011/02/24/author_of_incendies_the_play_praises_movie_version.html |title=Author of Incendies, the play, praises movie version |last=Wyatt |first=Nelson |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The Toronto Star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820032149/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2011/02/24/author_of_incendies_the_play_praises_movie_version.html |archive-date=20 August 2016 |url-status=live }} The project had a budget of $6.5 million, and received funding from Telefilm Canada.{{Cite web |url=http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/denis-villeneuve-s-incendies-nominated-for-best-foreign-film-1.599991 |title=Denis Villeneuve's 'Incendies' nominated for Best Foreign Film |last=Baillie |first=Andrea |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=7 August 2016 |work=CTV News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821203718/http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/denis-villeneuve-s-incendies-nominated-for-best-foreign-film-1.599991 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |url-status=live }}

File:Loubna Azabal.jpg was cast as Nawal after an extensive search, and won Best Actress at Belgium's Magritte Awards and Canada's Genie Awards.]]

For the part of Nawal, Villeneuve said he conducted an extensive search for actresses across Canada. He considered casting the main character to be the most challenging, and at one point contemplated using two or three actresses to play the character since the story spans four decades.{{Cite web |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/interviews/blood-lines-denis-villeneuve-incendies |title=Blood lines: Denis Villeneuve on Incendies |last=Dawson |first=Thomas |date=2 January 2015 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=British Film Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809024043/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/interviews/blood-lines-denis-villeneuve-incendies |archive-date=9 August 2016 |url-status=live }} He finally met Lubna Azabal, a Belgian actress of Moroccan—Spanish descent{{Cite web|url=https://people.orange.fr/star/lubna-azabal-CNT00000051bmT/|title = Lubna Azabal}} in Paris, intrigued by her "expressive and eloquent" face in Paradise Now (2005). Although she was 30, Villeneuve thought she appeared 18 and could play the part throughout the entire film, using makeup.

Villeneuve selected Canadian actress Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin to play Jeanne, saying the role required listening skills and Désormeaux-Poulin is "a very generous actress". Before Incendies, Désormeaux-Poulin was mainly known for "light fare".{{Cite web |url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/how-incendies-changed-melissa-desormeaux-poulins-life |title=How Incendies changed Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin's life |last=Kelly |first=Brendan |date=15 June 2012 |access-date=7 August 2016 |work=Montreal Gazette |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818111401/http://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/how-incendies-changed-melissa-desormeaux-poulins-life |archive-date=18 August 2016 |url-status=live }} Montreal actor Allen Altman, who played a notary, worked with a dialect coach for hours to develop a blend of the French and Arab accents before auditioning.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/awards-and-festivals/allen-altman-gets-fired-up-about-oscar-nominated-incendies/article568162/ |title=Allen Altman gets fired up about Oscar-nominated 'Incendies' |last=Macdonald |first=Gayle |date=18 February 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The Globe and Mail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913053544/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/awards-and-festivals/allen-altman-gets-fired-up-about-oscar-nominated-incendies/article568162/ |archive-date=13 September 2016 |url-status=live }} While shooting in Jordan, to research his role, actor Maxim Gaudette toured a Palestinian camp near Amman.{{Cite news |url=http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/cinema-quebecois/plus-de-nouvelles/201207/17/01-4551140-incendies-parfum-de-guerre.php |title=Incendies: Parfum de guerre |last=Chabot |first=Simon |date=27 June 2009 |access-date=7 August 2016 |work=La Presse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006210004/http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/cinema-quebecois/plus-de-nouvelles/201207/17/01-4551140-incendies-parfum-de-guerre.php |archive-date=6 October 2016 |url-status=live }}

File:Jamal Abdul Nasser Circle Amman Jordan.jpg was done in Amman.]]

The film was shot in Montreal and Jordan. The film took 40 days to shoot, of which 15 were spent in Jordan, with Villeneuve aiming to film no scene without being sure it would not be cut.

For the scenes filmed in Jordan, Villeneuve used a Lebanese and Iraqi crew, though he feared the war scenes would be too reminiscent of bad experiences for them. However, he said the Arab crew members felt "It's important that those sorts of stories are on the screen".{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/incendies-filmmaker-takes-on-war-in-a-fictional-but-very-real-middle-east/2011/04/18/AFGPco3G_story.html |title='Incendies' filmmaker takes on war in a fictional, but very real, Middle East |last=Jenkins |first=Mark |date=15 May 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826014222/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/incendies-filmmaker-takes-on-war-in-a-fictional-but-very-real-middle-east/2011/04/18/AFGPco3G_story.html |archive-date=26 August 2016 |url-status=live }} Some of the filming in Jordan took place in the capital of Amman. To recreate Beirut, art director André-Line Beauparlant built up rock and debris on a street in Amman.

Two tracks by British band Radiohead from their album Amnesiac, "You and Whose Army?" and "Like Spinning Plates", were used in the film.{{cite web | title=All 5 songs from the Incendies (2010) Soundtrack | website=WhatSong | date=12 January 2011 | url=https://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soundtrack/102644/Incendies | access-date=27 February 2021}} The music was considered so notable and integral to the film that the music was mentioned in many reviews.{{cite web | last=Kohn | first=Eric | title=REVIEW: Until Its Bitter End, "Incendies" is a Moving Wartime Drama | website=IndieWire | date=21 April 2011 | url=https://www.indiewire.com/2011/04/review-until-its-bitter-end-incendies-is-a-moving-wartime-drama-242855/ | access-date=28 February 2021}}{{cite web | title=A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Horror | website=NPR | date=22 April 2011 | url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/22/135541389/a-heartbreaking-work-of-staggering-horror | access-date=28 February 2021}}{{cite web | last=Whipp | first=Glenn | title='Incendies' director Denis Villeneuve talks about his journey | website=Los Angeles Times | date=17 April 2011 | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-apr-17-la-ca-denis-villenueve-20110417-story.html | access-date=28 February 2021}}{{cite web | title=Burning the Candle at Both Ends: Denis Villeneuve's Incendies (2010)|first=David L. |last=Pike | website=Bright Lights Film Journal | date=1 November 2011 | url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/burning-the-candle-at-both-ends-denis-villeneuves-incendies-2010/ | access-date=28 February 2021}} Film critic David Ehrlich wrote that "Incendies exploits Radiohead tracks for the multiplicity of their meaning, empowering the image by dislocating viewers from it". Villeneuve said that he had written "You and Whose Army?" into the script from the beginning, as it was intended to make it "clear that [the film] will be a westerner's point of view about this world".{{cite web | title=Radiohead's motion picture soundtracks | first=David | last=Ehrlich | website=The Dissolve | url=https://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/669-radioheads-motion-picture-soundtracks/ | access-date=28 February 2021 | archive-date=26 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126213118/https://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/669-radioheads-motion-picture-soundtracks/ | url-status=dead }} One music reviewer gave it first place in their "Top Ten Music Moments in Film".{{cite web | title=Top 10 Music Moments In Film |first=Keya |last=Muk| website=Purple Sneakers | date=29 February 2012 | url=https://www.purplesneakers.com.au/2012/02/top-10-music-moments-in-film/ | access-date=28 February 2021}}

Incendies was officially selected to play in the 67th Venice International Film Festival, 2010 Telluride Film Festival, 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, 2011 Sundance Film Festival and 2011 New Directors/New Films Festival.{{cite web

| title = Incendies

| publisher = Sony Pictures Classics

| date = n.d.

| url = http://www.sonyclassics.com/incendies/presskit.pdf

| access-date = 19 September 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111027072913/http://www.sonyclassics.com/incendies/presskit.pdf

| archive-date = 27 October 2011

| url-status = live

}} The film opened in Toronto and Vancouver in January 2011.

In the United States, the film was distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. When the film was screened in Beirut in March 2011, Villeneuve claimed "a lot of people said to me that we should show this film to their children, to show them what they had been through".

In 2023, Telefilm Canada announced that the film was one of 23 titles that will be digitally restored under its new Canadian Cinema Reignited program to preserve classic Canadian films.Pat Mullen, [https://povmagazine.com/oscar-winning-doc-leads-list-of-restored-canadian-classics/ "Oscar Winning Doc Leads List of Restored Canadian Classics"]. Point of View, 9 May 2023.

In Canada, the film passed the $1 million mark at the box office by October 2010.{{Cite web|url=http://www.telefilm.ca/en/news/whats-new/2010/10/05/incendies-passes-1m-mark-canadian-box-office |title=Incendies Passes $1M Mark at the Canadian Box Office |date=5 October 2010 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=Telefilm Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920131015/http://www.telefilm.ca/en/news/whats-new/2010/10/05/incendies-passes-1m-mark-canadian-box-office |archive-date=20 September 2016 |url-status=dead }} By the end of April 2011, the film grossed $4.7 million.{{Cite web |url=http://playbackonline.ca/2011/05/03/hot-sheet-top-5-canadian-films-april-23-april-29-2011/#ixzz4GaY5UrGI |title=Hot Sheet: Top 5 Canadian Films (April 23 – April 29, 2011) |last=Afan |first=Emily Claire |date=3 May 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=Playback |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819131328/http://playbackonline.ca/2011/05/03/hot-sheet-top-5-canadian-films-april-23-april-29-2011/#ixzz4GaY5UrGI |archive-date=19 August 2016 |url-status=live }} In Quebec theatres alone, Incendies made $3 million. It was considered a success in the country.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film completed its theatrical run on 29 September 2011, after making $2,071,334 in the U.S.{{Cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=incendies.htm |title=Incendies (U.S. only) |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=Box Office Mojo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005091441/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=incendies.htm |archive-date=5 October 2016 |url-status=live }} According to The Numbers, the film grossed $6,857,096 in North America and $9,181,247 in other territories for a worldwide total of $16,038,343.

Incendies received highly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports 91% positive reviews based on 124 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "It's messy, overlong, and a touch melodramatic, but those flaws pale before Incendies{{'}} impressive acting and devastating emotional impact."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/incendies |title=Incendies (2011) |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210092454/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/incendies/ |archive-date=10 December 2010 |url-status=live}} On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 80 out 100 based on 42 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/incendies |title=Incendies |work=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=16 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509130141/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/incendies |archive-date=9 May 2018 |url-status=live}}

The film enjoyed a positive reception in its country and province. Kevin N. Laforest of the Montreal Film Journal gave it 3.5 stars out of four and wrote, "Villeneuve has done his best work yet here".{{cite web |url=http://www.montrealfilmjournal.com/review.asp?R=R0001386 |title=Incendies |date=14 September 2010 |work=Montreal Film Journal |access-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218165520/http://montrealfilmjournal.com/review.asp?R=R0001386 |archive-date=18 December 2010 |url-status=live }} The Montreal Gazette's Brendan Kelly gave the film five stars and called it a "masterwork".{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Brendan |date=17 September 2010 |title=Incendies a Masterwork |newspaper=Montreal Gazette |page=C1 }}. Marc Cassivi of La Presse claimed the film transcended the play.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/201207/23/49-1604-incendies.php |title=Incendies : d'une maîtrise remarquable |last=Cassivi |first=Marc |date=16 September 2010 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=La Presse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731065948/http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/201207/23/49-1604-incendies.php |archive-date=31 July 2016 |url-status=live }} Peter Howell, writing for The Toronto Star, gave the film four stars, called it "a commanding film of multiple revelations", and the best of 2010, and praised Lubna Azabal as "first amongst equals".{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2011/01/20/movie_review_villeneuves_incendies_a_masterful_film.html |title=Movie review: Villeneuve's 'Incendies' a masterful film |last=Howell |first=Peter |date=20 January 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The Toronto Star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820000702/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2011/01/20/movie_review_villeneuves_incendies_a_masterful_film.html |archive-date=20 August 2016 |url-status=live }} However, Martin Morrow of CBC News was unimpressed, saying, "Villeneuve's screen adaptation strips away all this finely textured flesh and leaves only the bare bones".{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/review-incendies-1.957115 |title=Review: Incendies |last=Morrow |first=Martin |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=7 August 2016 |work=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612172352/http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/review-incendies-1.957115 |archive-date=12 June 2016 |url-status=dead }} University of Berlin film scholar Claudia Kotte wrote that the film, along with Monsieur Lazhar (2011) and War Witch (2012), represent a break in the Cinema of Quebec from focus on local history to global concerns, with Incendies adding Oedipal themes.{{cite book |last=Kotte |first=Claudia |chapter=Zero Degrees of Separation: Post-Exilic Return in Denis Villeneuve's Incendies |date=2015 |title=Cinematic Homecomings |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1441101075 |page=288 }} Authors Gada Mahrouse, Chantal Maillé and Daniel Salée wrote McCraw and Déry's films, Incendies, Monsieur Lazhar and Inch'Allah, depict Quebec as part of the global village and as accepting minorities, particularly Middle Easterners or "Muslim Others".{{cite journal |last1=Mahrouse |first1=Gada |last2=Maillé |first2=Chantal |last3=Salée |first3=Daniel |date=Fall–Winter 2013 |title=Monsieur Lazhar: Exploring the dis/junctures between art and life in Québec |journal=Quebec Studies |volume=56 |page=8 |doi=10.3828/qs.2013.3 }}

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars, saying "it wants to be much more than a thriller and succeeds in demonstrating how senseless and futile it is to hate others because of their religion", and Azabal "is never less than compelling".{{Cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/incendies-2011 |title=Incendies |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=27 April 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=Rogerebert.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814130523/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/incendies-2011 |archive-date=14 August 2016 |url-status=live }} He later selected the film as his favourite to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,{{Cite web|url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/roger-ebert-picks-canadian-film-as-oscar-favourite-1.606781 |title=Roger Ebert picks Canadian film as Oscar favourite |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=CTV News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119030959/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20110211/Film-Incendies-110211/20110211?s_name=oscars2011 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=live }} though it lost to In a Better World from Denmark. Leonard Maltin also gave the film three and a half stars, referring to it as "tough, spellbinding".{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |date=2014 |title=Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide |publisher=Penguin Group}} Ty Burr, writing for The Boston Globe, gave the film three and a half stars, praising a bus scene as harrowing but saying the climax is "a plot twist that feels like one coincidence too far", that "leaves the audience doing math on their fingers rather than reeling in shock".{{Cite news |url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2011/05/13/a_womans_last_request_leads_to_disturbing_truth_in_incendies/ |title=Incendies |last=Burr, Ty |author-link=Ty Burr |date=13 May 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The Boston Globe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819204020/http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2011/05/13/a_womans_last_request_leads_to_disturbing_truth_in_incendies/ |archive-date=19 August 2016 |url-status=live }} Incendies was named by Stephen Holden of The New York Times as one of the 10 best films of 2011.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/movies/awardsseason/2011-films-melancholia-tree-of-life-moneyball.html?emc=eta |title=Awards Season |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=14 December 2011 |access-date=6 August 2016 |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122351/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/movies/awardsseason/2011-films-melancholia-tree-of-life-moneyball.html?emc=eta |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live }} Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times called it Villeneuve's "best-realized work yet".{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-apr-22-la-et-incendies-20110422-story.html |title=Movie review: 'Incendies' |last=Sharkey |first=Betsy |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=7 August 2016 |work=Los Angeles Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822153114/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/22/entertainment/la-et-incendies-20110422 |archive-date=22 August 2016 |url-status=live }} A number of reviews complimented use of the song "You and Whose Army?" by Radiohead.{{Cite news |url=http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/nouvelles/201207/17/01-4548309-incendies-se-souvenir-des-cendres.php |title=Incendies : se souvenir des cendres |last=Blais |first=Marie-Christine |date=11 September 2010 |access-date=8 August 2016 |work=La Presse |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006205710/http://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/nouvelles/201207/17/01-4548309-incendies-se-souvenir-des-cendres.php |archive-date=6 October 2016 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/22/135541389/a-heartbreaking-work-of-staggering-horror |title=A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Horror |last=Edelstein |first=David |date=22 April 2011 |access-date=8 August 2016 |work=NPR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821224621/http://www.npr.org/2011/04/22/135541389/a-heartbreaking-work-of-staggering-horror |archive-date=21 August 2016 |url-status=live }} Criticisms have included charges of melodrama and orientalism.

{{cite book |last=Kotte |first=Claudia |chapter=Zero Degrees of Separation: Post-Exilic Return in Denis Villeneuve's Incendies |date=2015 |title=Cinematic Homecomings |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |pages=295–296}}

On 22 September 2010, Incendies was chosen to represent Canada at the 83rd Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3i164dab495458bd2bb6e4fc7db250065e |title=Canada picks Incendies to vie for Oscar |access-date=29 September 2010 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001054603/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3i164dab495458bd2bb6e4fc7db250065e |archive-date=1 October 2010 }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://moncinema.cyberpresse.ca/nouvelles-et-critiques/nouvelles/nouvelle-cinema/13713-iIncendiesi-parmi-les-neuf-films-prslectionns-aux-Oscars.html |title=Oscars: Incendies dans les demi-finalistes |first=André |last=Duchesne |work=moncinema.cyberpresse.ca |date=19 January 2011 |access-date=26 January 2011 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122034715/http://moncinema.cyberpresse.ca/nouvelles-et-critiques/nouvelles/nouvelle-cinema/13713-iIncendiesi-parmi-les-neuf-films-prslectionns-aux-Oscars.html |archive-date=22 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2011/20110119.html |title=9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar Race |access-date=19 January 2011 |work=oscars.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121074342/http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2011/20110119.html |archive-date=21 January 2011 |url-status=live }}

It won eight awards at the 31st Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture, Best Actress for Azabal and Best Director for Villeneuve.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/awards/villeneuves-incendies-wins-eight-genies-including-best-picture/article1937826/ |title=Villeneuve's Incendies wins eight Genies, including best picture |date=10 March 2011 |work=The Globe and Mail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120122933/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/awards/villeneuves-incendies-wins-eight-genies-including-best-picture/article1937826/ |archive-date=20 January 2012 |url-status=live }} Along with Incendies, Villeneuve won the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award in 2009 for the film Polytechnique, the first Canadian filmmaker to win it twice in a row.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/incendies-best-canadian-film-toronto-critics-1.1072930 |title=Incendies best Canadian film: Toronto critics |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=22 October 2018 |publisher=CBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319200001/http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/incendies-best-canadian-film-toronto-critics-1.1072930 |archive-date=19 March 2017 |url-status=live }} Incendies also won the Prix Jutra for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actress (Azabal), Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes and Sound.

It is also the only film to date to have won both the Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film and the Vancouver International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film.{{Cite web |date=12 January 2011 |title=Incendies best Canadian film: Toronto critics |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/incendies-best-canadian-film-toronto-critics-1.1072930#:~:text=Incendies%20was%20named%20best%20Canadian%20feature%20film%20at,first%20filmmaker%20to%20win%20twice%20in%20a%20row. |website=CBC Arts}}

• 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

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.trinityfilm.co.uk/films/incendies/|name=Official UK website}}
• {{Official website|http://www.incendiesfilm.com/|name=Official U.S. website}}
• {{Official website|http://www.incendies-thefilm.com/|name=Official Canadian website}} {{in lang|en}}
• {{Official website|http://www.incendies-lefilm.com/|name=Official Canadian website}} {{in lang|fr}}
• {{IMDb title|1255953|Incendies}}
• {{Mojo title|incendies|Incendies}}
• {{Metacritic film|title=Incendies}}
• {{Rotten Tomatoes|incendies|Incendies}}

{{Denis Villeneuve}}

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{{ACCT Best Picture}}

{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}

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{{TFCA Award for Best Canadian Film}}

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{{VFCC Award for Best Canadian Film}}

{{Canadian submission for Academy Awards}}

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Category:2010 films

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