Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Incendies

Play trailer Poster for Incendies R Released Apr 22, 2011 2h 10m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 124 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.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Incendies

Incendies

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (124)
Roger Clarke Sight & Sound Incendies acquires its heft from some very deep places -- Greek tragedy rather than newsflashes. Jun 28, 2011 Full Review Robbie Collin News of the World 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. Rated: 2/5 Jun 25, 2011 Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard It isn't easy to open out a well-respected stage play without losing a lot of its bite and subtlety. Rated: 4/5 Jun 24, 2011 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …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… Rated: 5/5 Aug 12, 2024 Full Review Ray Pride Newcity 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. Rated: 10/10 Jul 4, 2024 Full Review Rohan Naahar The Indian Express 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. Mar 9, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+)
Omar K Pour moi c'est incroyable film Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/20/25 Full Review Audience Member What an absolute crap. Why the hell would the woman shoot the military man in public? Absolute bullshit story... Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/15/25 Full Review Diego P ¡Buenaza! Una tragedia digna de comparación con cualquier drama Shakespeariano. Wajdi Mouawad el mejor escritor de drama de la actualidad, quien hace un trabajo de por sí ya excelso en sus obras, es capturado aquí por el director Denis Villeneuve quien logra un trabajo excepcional en plasmar dicho drama en la pantalla grande. No pidas palomitas y guarda tus nachos para el final: esta tragedia necesita el cien por ciento de tu atención para poder disfrutarse al máximo. Merecedora al mil de su espiga de oro. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/14/25 Full Review alaa a Shocking and gut wrenching! both in a good way. My life hasn’t been the same since I’ve watched Incendies. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/25 Full Review Kyle C This film is incredibly immersive; I spent most of it believing that the cities, wars, and political figures were actually real, surrounding the main fictional story. Of course, this is not the case! Apparently a lot of the film was inspired by various conflicts, but the attention to detail and complex plot really lend a sense of realism. The story itself is equally engaging. It’s sort of a mystery film, but not in the way that you’re just watching to get to the next big reveal; more so, you’re just along for the powerful, heart-wrenching ride, equal parts excited for and dreading whatever will come next. The very last twist felt just a tiny bit over the top, but at least the film really wrings out from it every bit of emotional turmoil that it can. Lubna Abazel gives an incredible performance: nuanced, emotional, and real. Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin also has some really impressive scenes. Denis Villenueve is directing here, though you won’t find much of his signature Dune or Blade Runner styles in this film. Tight shots on characters balanced with wide shots of smoldering desert cities lead to a beautiful sense of isolation and discovery. Emotional connections are made even more palpable by the parallels between shots in the past and present. Incendies is a beautiful film that is very difficult to watch. Be prepared for some very real-world trauma in this fictional landscape. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 05/10/25 Full Review Fer S I was left shocked. The narrative is great and the acting too. Felt kinda long but very much worth it. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/15/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Incendies

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

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

More Like This

View All
Mother and Child 79% 76% Mother and Child Watchlist For Colored Girls 31% 73% For Colored Girls Watchlist We Need to Talk About Kevin 74% 78% We Need to Talk About Kevin Watchlist Beautiful Boy 71% 56% Beautiful Boy Watchlist Winter's Bone 94% 76% Winter's Bone Watchlist TRAILER for Winter's Bone Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All
Critics Consensus: Water for Elephants Is A Little Soapy
View All

Incendies

Lubna Azabal as Nawal Marwan in "Incendies." Lubna Azabal as Nawal Marwan in "Incendies." Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne Marwan in "Incendies." Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne Marwan and Maxim Gaudette as Simon Marwan in "Incendies." (L-R) Rémy Girard as Notary Jean Lebel, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne Marwan and Maxim Gaudette as Simon Marwan in "Incendies." A scene from "Incendies." Incendies (2010) Incendies (2010) Incendies (2010) View more photos

Movie Info

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)
Most Popular at Home Now