Film Review #4- Incendies

Yesterday, me and my mum went to watch Incendies at the cinema. I hadn't read the synopsis for this so I didn't really know what to expect.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film is about two twins, Jeanne and Simon, whose mother has recently died. In her will, she leaves each of them a peculiar request- to find their father (who they thought was dead) and their brother (who they never knew they had) and give them each a letter. The twins then journey to the Middle East to learn of their mother's past and the identity of their father and brother.

Incendies is a thriller- not the kind of thing I would usually watch. As most of the film was centred around a fictional war between Christians and Muslims, there was a lot of violence, some of it fairly graphic. In one particularly memorable scene, a group of young boys attempt to avoid a sniper. However, one of the youngest is too slow and is shown lying, covered in blood, in a pile of rubble.

The story itself not as confusing as many thrillers are- it was relatively easy to follow, which surprised me. To be honest, however, I would describe it as more interesting than exciting, especially at the end when the big twist is revealed. This is done very cleverly, and the twins' reactions to this twist is very believable. My mum and I questioned how believable the twist itself was, though. I would say that that was the only downfall in this respect, however, would a twist that was believable stop it from being a twist?

I really enjoyed the way Incendies was filmed. The big red capital letters that flashed up on the screen every now and then made it feel almost like a documentary, as did the close-ups and the almost unsteady camera. It was a bit like 'Who Do You Think You Are?', but the people the twins meet aren't always as welcoming as they are on TV.

Overall, not one of my favourites, but it was well filmed and the twist at the end was very unexpected. I would recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of thrillers and mysteries.
I'd give this yet another
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Caitlin

P.S. Half way through La Peste- hope to have a review up at some point next week. Also, I've added an 'I'm reading...' text box at the top of my blog so you know what reviews to expect soon!